Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

Immediately, Antoine springs out of bed and rouses the entire household into action. He tells the servants to wake Laure and have her prepare for a journey while he sits down to write a number of letters. By eight o’clock, Antoine, Laure, and their caravan of attendants have set out from the house. As they travel through town to leave the city, word spreads that they are headed to Grenoble; this is merely a rumor, however, as Antoine has no intention of going to Grenoble at all. Once they travel more than a mile from town, Antoine and Laure break off from the main group, which continues toward Grenoble on their own. Antoine, however, heads south, away from the traveling party, with only his daughter and her serving maid.

Antoine planned to arrive in Venice to quickly arrange her marriage to the Baron’s son so that their marriage—and his plans for conquest—could be carried out and consummated as soon as possible. Antoine is unwilling to wait, and even though he knows it will be difficult and expensive, he is unwilling to wait and give the killer an opportunity to strike because “the marriage of Laure Richis to the son of the baron de Bouyon would have meant a devastating defeat for the murderer” (217).