The Count of Monte Cristo

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the army of the Loire, with his uniform and his epaulets, there was
everything to apprehend. I hastened to the inn-keeper. My misgivings had
been but too true. My brother had arrived the previous evening at
Nimes, and, at the very door of the house where he was about to demand
hospitality, he had been assassinated. I did all in my power to discover
the murderers, but no one durst tell me their names, so much were they
dreaded. I then thought of that French justice of which I had heard so
much, and which feared nothing, and I went to the king's attorney."

"And this king's attorney was named Villefort?" asked Monte Cristo
carelessly.

"Yes, your excellency; he came from Marseilles, where he had been
deputy-procureur. His zeal had procured him advancement, and he was said
to be one of the first who had informed the government of the departure
from the Island of Elba."