Dark business

Part one. Police Failures

During the revolution of 1789, the family estate of the Lorrainean marquises de Simez in the department of Arsi Gondreville was sold to the lawyer Marion, who acted in the interests of the state adviser Malen (to whom he eventually sold it). The estate was managed all this time by the former forester Misha, who actively participated in the revolution and enjoyed the trust of the former noble owners. Being ready to buy the estate from Marion at the last moment, he subsequently harbored the anger that had crossed over to Malena. From the Simez family, only the brothers Paul-Marie and Marie-Paul remained, who left France and served in the emigrant army of Conde , and their cousin Mademoiselle de Saint-Sin, who was under the tutelage of the d'Otseurs.

In the autumn of 1803, policemen Coranter and Perad arrived to Gondreville from Paris , whom Foucher instructed to study the castle and observe its owner. Malen himself leads a double game, maintaining ties with the consulate and the Bourbons . In a conversation with a notary public, Greven, he talks about a plot being prepared against the first consul, Napoleon Bonaparte , in which Cadual , Moreau , Pishegru and the Simesa brothers are involved, and the need to choose a side for themselves as quickly as possible. The conversation hears Misha, who is hiding in the bushes with a gun, whom the conversants notice.

Upon returning home, Muchot drinks with neighbor Violet, who was sent by police agents, who offers to sell his farm for fifty thousand francs. After quickly drinking it, he jumps into the castle of Saint-Blue and asks Laurence for a personal meeting, speaking about the threat to the life of her cousins. All this time, Laurence, a former ardent monarchist, kept in touch with her brothers and helped them cross the border to enter Paris.

At this time, the gendarmes on behalf of Koranten and Perad, who were aware of the role of the Simes in the plot, put cordons at a distance from the castle. At the same time, the mayor of Gular was sent to the castle in order to warn its inhabitants and instruct them on further actions. Misha tells Laurence about his oath to take care of the brothers de Simez, given to their parents before the execution. He also informs her of the decision to kill Malen, so that in subsequent tenders she would be able to redeem the estate. Servants Gotar and Catherine run away from the estate on horseback, thereby diverting the attention of the gendarmes to themselves. Misha and Laurence arrive in the ruins of the monastery located in the Nodema forest, from where they decide to catch up with the nobles heading for Paris and warn them about the discovery of the conspiracy.

Korantin and Perad search the castle, the inhabitants of which do not know anything about the possible appearance of the Simez brothers in France. The discovered box attracts Koranten's interest, but when trying to open it with a dagger, Laurence returned home with a whip on his arm. Then she throws the item into the fireplace, but Perada manages to get the box and pull out the contents - her correspondence with the family of Simez of a personal nature. Laurence tells the agents that she met those who wanted to file a petition for clemency with Simes, whom she advised to return to Germany so that they would not be dragged into the uncovered conspiracy.

With the help of a taut rope, Francois Mishu faints the horse gendarme rushing to his house, furnishing everything as an accident and preserving the alibi of his father, who intercepted the nobles and put them in a secret shelter. Malen, having achieved the post of senator, relieves Misha from his duties. Having handed over the affairs, the latter received a plot of land for rent from Laurence and moves to Saint-Xin. The months of searching the gendarmes did not find the fugitives. Koranten collected a number of circumstantial evidence testifying to the role of Misha in helping and harboring emigrants, but did not let them into business.

Part two. Qurantin recouped

Mademoiselle de Saint-Sinh continues to supply all the necessary nobles who have taken refuge in the forest, skillfully masking their secret trips into the forest. After the decision to elect Napoleon as emperor, d'Otsera and Simesa decide to submit a request to remove them from the list of emigrants and to restore civil rights, the Council of State is inclined to fulfill their request. At this time, Mishu, after discussion with the gentlemen, decides to release the emigrants, and after their arrival he returns to the ruins of the monastery for forgotten things. But there he was met by Koranten and Perad, who were able to calculate the whereabouts of the shelter thanks to special horseshoes with which the blacksmith sent by them knocked out the castle horses. Agents tell Misha that for a week they were ready to arrest the “former”, but did not because of the decision of the council to restore their rights. The d'Otsera brothers begin to lay claim to the heart of Laurence, who is not ready to make the final choice and trusts herself to chance.

In February 1806, a relative of the Simezov Marquis de Charjbeff arrives at the castle, who made efforts to pardon the young nobles. He advises to be careful and fire Misha, who threatened to kill Malen with witnesses, since they still remain under suspicion and surrounded by ill-wishers. He also recommends secretly offering Malen recognition of his count in exchange for monetary compensation, for Bonaparte had already begun to create dukes . Misha agrees to leave and sells his plot, but finally decides to help the gentlemen and bring to the castle a million francs buried during the revolution.

The nobles responsibly prepare for the operation, setting it as the date of the post, when it will be possible to send all the servants to the city for a holiday. Laurence, d'Otsera, Simesa and Misha successfully find the treasure and, not meeting anyone along the way, decide to go after his last part directly through Gondreville Park. There they notice the smoke coming from the castle, and decide to find out the reason for what is happening. It turns out that during their trip, five masked robbers searched the house, who eventually managed to kidnap Malen. Suspicions fall on young nobles for a number of reasons: similarity with the abductors in terms of physical characteristics, manners, gait; ambiguous words uttered before the trip in the presence of witnesses and so on. Young nobles and Misha are arrested, Laurence left on bail, they are threatened with the death penalty for a crime under the Brume Code of IV.

Part three. Empire Political Process

The disappearance of the senator shocks the entire empire, and Napoleon orders a thorough investigation of this event, which he considers an attempt on the institutions he founded. Public opinion, like the department’s power consisting of Malen’s friends, before the trial found four aristocrats guilty of a crime. The jury affirms the indictment; the Marquis de Charjbeuf finds lawyers for the accused: Borden and de Granville. Their verdict is that it is impossible to win because of the perfect and not perfect (flight could delay the process and give time to find evidence of innocence) by the nobles and their inability to name the true reason for the forest walk. At the same time, they consider this matter to be dark , since the kidnappers deliberately decided to set up the innocent and did not steal anything from Malen.

At this time, Misha’s wife is given a note from her husband, in which he confesses to the abduction of the senator, who was hidden in the basement in the forest. He asks to bring food to the prisoner, since Malen will come in handy in the future. Martha burns the note, leaving a piece with harmless words. Together with Kuro, she sneaks into the forest and visits a senator who could recognize her. Later, she tells about all the abbot Gouguer, with whom she is summoned to the beginning of the trial. The defense manages to successfully interrogate the nobles, and they managed to trap the public prosecutor with the testimonies of Misha and Gotar. During the interrogation of other witnesses, it is possible to cast doubt on Mishu’s participation in the crime, and de Granville’s speech has a serious effect on the jury.

The next day, the senator is at large thanks to the unknown, and talks about everything to the authorities. At the process, in the hope of saving her husband and nobles, Martha talks about everything she knows. But Myusho claims that he did not write her any notes and could not transfer her from his cell. Malen in his testimony states that the defendants were definitely not his captors. The new testimonies and behavior of the accused lead the jury to the side of the prosecution and to the following sentence: Mishu - the death penalty , the brothers de Simesa - twenty-four years of hard labor , the d'Otsera brothers - ten years of hard labor., Gotard - an excuse.

Borden and Sharjbeuf go to Paris, where they help Malen and Talleyrand to save the nobles (but not Misha, who cannot be saved). The latter draws up a petition on behalf of the convicts with a request for clemency and acceptance into the ranks of the imperial army, and later explains to them that the police are acting against them in this matter. On the advice of Talleyrand, Laurence and Charzbeff go to Prussia , where Napoleon is now fighting . They manage to meet with the emperor before the battle of Jena , according to the results of the conversation, he advises them to return to France and wait for the fulfillment of his instructions, Laurence leaves with confidence to mitigate the punishment for Misha. Upon their return to Troyes, the convicted nobles are entrusted with bail until the emperor decides, and Misha is executed.

Four nobles receive a pardon and the rank of second lieutenant, after which they are sent to the army. The Simesa brothers die at the Battle of Somosierre , Robert d'Otser - near Moscow . Adrien returns for treatment after the battle of Dresden and marries Laurence, who gave him the daughter of Bert and the son of Paul. Son Mishu, raised under the care of Saint-Xin, in the future makes a successful career in law. The king ’s silence about the abduction of Malen makes Laurence suspect of involvement in the "dark business."

Epilogue

By 1833, the state of the Sen-Xin family, thanks to the Simez inheritance and the law on compensation for damages adopted after the Restoration, had grown significantly. Princess Cadignan decides to extradite her son, Duke Mofrignez, to her daughter Bertu. The Marquise Saint-Xin unexpectedly leaves one of the receptions at the Cadignan, learning about the arrival as a guest of Malen. After the departure of Count de Gondreville, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers de Mars decided to reconcile the mistress with the Saint-Xin family, telling about the events of thirty years ago.

In 1800, Carnot , Sieyes, Talleyrand, and Foucher plotted to overthrow Napoleon if he was defeated in Italy . Foucher, who secretly controlled the republican underground, forces Malen, who was in correspondence with Louis XVIII, to print posters, proclamations, and other documents related to the future overthrow of Bonaparte. The first news of the defeat at Marengo mislead the conspirators, but learning about the true outcome of the battle, Malen hides what was printed on his estate. Napoleon holds the Republicans responsible for what happened, the conspiratorial ministers “tie” the first consul to the revolution with the help of the Duke of Engien . Malen's “abduction” in 1806 was actually organized by police officers led by Coranten, who had personal accounts with Laurence, whom Foucher had instructed to destroy evidence of the plot and to find Malen’s correspondence with the Bourbons.

Mars advises the Princess to tell this story to Laurence in order to explain the silence of the late King Louis.

The Dark Case was first published in the issues of the Kommersant newspaper from January 14 to February 20, 1841, and included twenty chapters ^[1] .

A year later, the work was released as a separate book (with the date "1843"), where the author's preface was also added. In 1846, the book was included in the twelfth volume of the first edition of The Human Comedy (Scenes of Political Life), it consisted of three parts (I. “Police Failures”, II. “The Qurantin recouped”, III. “The Political Process of the Times of the Empire ") And the epilogue ^[1] .

"Dark business" has a connection with the book of Shuana, or Brittany in 1799 (a number of common characters, themes ^[1] ).

The writer set out to depict the political police in their clash with private life, to show the abomination of her actions ^[2] .