# Valerie de Cevennes — The Trail of the Serpent character guide > Valerie de Cevennes in The Trail of the Serpent by M. E. Braddon. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Valerie, Mademoiselle Valerie de Cevennes, Mademoiselle Valerie, Mademoiselle de Cevennes, Mademoiselle **First appearance:** 0018-book-iii-holy-institution ## Snapshot A proud, dark-eyed daughter of the De Cevennes who moves through Parisian brilliance with a face of settled despair, her secret marriage and hidden past pursued by a man who means to destroy her. ## Who they are Valerie de Cevennes is the brilliant, witty Parisian whose vivacity the world admires and whose private face is shadowed by a despair she can never outrun. Married in secret to an opera-singer and now bound to Raymond Marolles, she talks because she dare not think and hurries from pleasure to pleasure because only excitement keeps the past at bay. Her presence at the opera, pale and blazing-eyed in sombre velvet, turns the novel's social glitter into a stage for a private reckoning. ## Relationships ### [Raymond Marolles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/characters/raymond_marolles) _romantic_ Raymond is deeply in love with Valerie, but their relationship is complicated by social barriers and family opposition. ### [Madame Elizabeth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/characters/madame_elizabeth) _social_ Madame Elizabeth interacts with Valerie primarily as a concerned mother figure, wary of her son's attachment to her. ### [Gaston de Lancy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/characters/gaston_de_lancy) _romantic_ Gaston de Lancy is a suitor to Valerie, creating romantic tension with Raymond Marolles. ### [Marquis de Cevennes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/characters/marquis_de_cevennes) _family_ The Marquis de Cevennes is Valerie's father, exerting strict control over her life and choices. ### [Valerie de Lancy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/characters/valerie_de_lancy) _family_ Valerie de Cevennes and Valerie de Lancy are likely the same person or closely related family members, possibly mother and daughter. ### [Raymond Marolles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/characters/raymond_marolles) _romantic_ Raymond is deeply in love with Valerie, but their relationship is complicated by social barriers and family opposition. ### [Raymond Marolles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/characters/raymond_marolles) _romantic_ Raymond is deeply in love with Valerie, but their relationship is complicated by social barriers and family opposition. ### [Madame Elizabeth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/characters/madame_elizabeth) _social_ Madame Elizabeth interacts with Valerie primarily as a concerned mother figure, wary of her son's attachment to her. ### [Valerie de Lancy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/characters/valerie_de_lancy) _family_ Valerie de Cevennes and Valerie de Lancy are likely the same person or closely related family members, possibly mother and daughter. ### [Gaston de Lancy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/characters/gaston_de_lancy) _romantic_ Gaston de Lancy is a suitor to Valerie, creating romantic tension with Raymond Marolles. ### [Marquis de Cevennes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/characters/marquis_de_cevennes) _family_ The Marquis de Cevennes is Valerie's father, exerting strict control over her life and choices. ### [Madame Elizabeth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/characters/madame_elizabeth) _social_ Madame Elizabeth interacts with Valerie primarily as a concerned mother figure, wary of her son's attachment to her. ## In the story ### [Book II: A Clearance of All Scores](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/chapters/book-ii-a-clearance-of-all-scores) Her marriage to Raymond Marolles is a key event in this section. ### [I: The Value of an Opera-Glass](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/chapters/i-the-value-of-an-opera-glass) Observed at the opera; her bouquet is used to pass a secret note to Elvino. ### [Working in the Dark](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/chapters/ii-working-in-the-dark) The highborn lady who has secretly married an opera-singer and now occupies a pavilion, unaware of the plot against her. ### [III: The Wrong Footstep](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/chapters/iii-the-wrong-footstep) Confronted by a stranger who knows her secret marriage; struggles between pride and anguish. ### [V: The King of Spades](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/chapters/v-the-king-of-spades) Passively accompanies Raymond, deeply affected by the card reading and the prediction of the king of spades' death. ### [VII: The Last Act of Lucretia Borgia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/chapters/vii-the-last-act-of-lucretia-borgia) Attends the opera with her uncle; appears pale and distant; reacts with hysterical laughter to de Lancy's death and is diagnosed with brain fever. ### [Bad Dreams and a Worse Waking](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/chapters/viii-bad-dreams-and-a-worse-waking) Recovering from a month-long illness marked by delirium; consumed by guilt over Gaston de Lancy's murder; refuses comfort and awaits death. ### [IX: A Marriage in High Life](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/chapters/ix-a-marriage-in-high-life) The bride, forced into marriage to protect her family's honor; she is cold, haughty, and secretly furious, threatening to expose the crime she shares with Raymond. ### [X: Animal Magnetism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/chapters/x-animal-magnetism) Visits Blurosset veiled and plainly dressed; asks for a means of certain death; feels the presence of a dead person; leaves, haunted by the past. ### [VII: The Golden Secret Is Told, and the Golden Bowl Is Broken](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/chapters/vii-the-golden-secret-is-told-and-the-golden-bowl-is-broken) Mentioned as having learned the truth about Gaston de Lancy's murder, now a potential threat to Raymond. ### [IX: Captain Lansdown Overhears a Conversation Which Appears to Interest Him](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/chapters/ix-captain-lansdown-overhears-a-conversation-which-appears-to-interest-him) Visits Blurosset veiled, accuses him of complicity in Gaston de Lancy's murder, reveals her second marriage to Raymond Marolles is in name only, and threatens to denounce both men. ### [Book VI: On the Track](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/chapters/book-vi-on-the-track) Her marriage to Raymond Marolles places her at the center of the deception and its revelation. ### [I: Father and Son](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/chapters/i-father-and-son) Raymond's wife, mentioned as having sent for her uncle, the Marquis. ### [VI: The End of the Dark Road](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/chapters/vi-the-end-of-the-dark-road) The Countess de Marolles, whose whereabouts during her husband's trial are questioned at the chapter's end. ### [Farewell to England](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/chapters/vii-farewell-to-england) Reunited with her husband Gaston de Lancy, who was not murdered but drugged; present at the docks to see Richard off. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/characters/valerie_de_cevennes - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_trail_of_the_serpent_se/characters