# Maître Delarue — The Secret Tomb character guide

> Maître Delarue in The Secret Tomb by Maurice Leblanc.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Delarue, Monsieur Delarue

**First appearance:** 0000-i-the-ch-teau-de-roborey

## Snapshot

A flustered provincial notary charged with presiding over a dead man's rendezvous, he clings to procedure while longing to be anywhere but the scene of danger.

## Who they are

Delarue arrives at the clock tower clutching the gold medal and the instructions of a client long dead, the legal hinge on which the whole inheritance turns. He is pompous about his office yet craven in a crisis, cowering in corners and sniveling when shots are fired, and Dorothy must drag him by the hand like a child. His comic cowardice sharpens the stakes: the man who represents the dead is the least equipped to face what the dead have arranged.

## In the story

### [IV: The Cross-Examination](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_tomb_se/chapters/iv-the-cross-examination)

The inspector conducting the cross-examination; he examines documents and questions Dorothy about her troupe.

### [XI: The Will of the Marquis de Beaugreval](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_tomb_se/chapters/xi-the-will-of-the-marquis-de-beaugreval)

The notary from Nantes, entrusted with the sealed letter; initially flustered but recovers dignity to read the Marquis's testament.

### [XII: The Elixir of Resurrection](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_tomb_se/chapters/xii-the-elixir-of-resurrection)

Initially skeptical; leads the way on a donkey; becomes uneasy as the will's instructions are fulfilled.

### [XIII: Lazarus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_tomb_se/chapters/xiii-lazarus)

Initially convinced of the resurrection, he argues with Dorothy but is eventually swayed by her reasoning.

### [XIV: The Fourth Medal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_tomb_se/chapters/xiv-the-fourth-medal)

Notary; terrified by the murder and the threat; wants to inform the police but is dissuaded by Dorothy.

### [XV: The Kidnapping of Montfaucon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_tomb_se/chapters/xv-the-kidnapping-of-montfaucon)

Terrified and reluctant, he is guided by Dorothy down the rope ladder, fearing for his life due to the codicil he holds.

### [XVI: The Last Quarter of a Minute](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_tomb_se/chapters/xvi-the-last-quarter-of-a-minute)

Captured after being forced down from a tree with a bullet through his hat, held with Montfaucon.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_tomb_se/characters/maitre_delarue
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_tomb_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_tomb_se/characters