The Count of Monte Cristo

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Noirtier's look was furious; it was very evident that something
desperate was passing in the old man's mind, for a cry of anger and
grief rose in his throat, and not being able to find vent in utterance,
appeared almost to choke him, for his face and lips turned quite purple
with the struggle. Villefort quietly opened a window, saying, "It is
very warm, and the heat affects M. Noirtier." He then returned to his
place, but did not sit down. "This marriage," added Madame de Villefort,
"is quite agreeable to the wishes of M. d'Epinay and his family;
besides, he had no relations nearer than an uncle and aunt, his mother
having died at his birth, and his father having been assassinated
in 1815, that is to say, when he was but two years old; it naturally
followed that the child was permitted to choose his own pursuits, and he
has, therefore, seldom acknowledged any other authority but that of his
own will."

"That assassination was a mysterious affair," said Villefort, "and the
perpetrators have hitherto escaped detection, although suspicion has