The Barricade Girl (A Les Miserables FanFiction)

Chapter Sixty-Five

I ask Gavroche to give Monsieur Valjean and I a moment. Not wanting to prolong the wait, I find the nearest empty room I can, and we enter, closing the door behind us. We take a seat, and I stare at him, intensely wide-eyed, not knowing what to say to begin the conversation. Thankfully, Valjean wastes no time.

"I feel I must tell you about the night on the barricade", Valjean begins.

"Yes", I nod.

"But you must promise me that this stays between us. No-one else must know", he instructs.

"Yes, I promise", I say quickly, but sincerely. "You have my word".

"I know you've already figured out that it was I who brought Marius home from the barricade", he offers a small smile.

"I thought it might have been", I try to smile back. "Thank you. He and I will be forever indebted to you for that".

"Marius doesn't know", Valjean warns me. "And I'd prefer to keep it that way. Cosette doesn't know either", he explains.

"Then...I'll be indebted enough for the both of us", I reply, not really understanding why he wouldn't want them to know, but also determined to respect his wishes – it's the least I could do for the man who saved my brother, and the man who joined Enjolras and I together in matrimony.

"There's something else you need to know", he places a hand over mine. "Enjolras' body didn't remain at the barricade".

"What?" I gasp, shaking slightly, my arm hairs standing on end due to the goose bumps his news has caused.

"When people returned to the site to clear the bodies for burial, Enjolras' wasn't there", he continues calmly.

"If it isn't there...then where is it?" I ask, confused and on the verge of bursting as I struggle to make sense of this.

"We haven't been able to locate where his body has ended up. But I believe I saw his body being dragged through the city sewers. That was the way I had to escape with Marius to avoid being seen by soldiers, and I saw his body being carried through there".

"By who?" I clutch his hand, begging him to make sense of all of this for me. Valjean opens his mouth to speak, but is interrupted when the door opens slightly, a soft knock following it. Marius pokes his head through the door.

"I thought I heard voices", Marius beams. "May I come in for a moment?" As happy as I am that my brother is alive and well, I wish he wouldn't come in, as I desperately want to finish my conversation with Monsieur Valjean. But, displaying a level of compassion that I haven't seen in any human being before, Valjean graciously allows Marius to interrupt. Marius hobbles into the room, holding his cane in one arm whilst closing the door behind him with the other. "Monsieur, this is a day I never can forget", Marius beams. I stand up and gesture for him to take my seat. "Is gratitude enough for giving me Cosette? Your home shall be with us and not a day shall pass. But we will prove our love to you, whom we shall call. A father to us both. A father to us all", he says excitedly, speaking at a hundred miles a minute.

"Not another word my son", Valjean holds up a hand to silence him, a sterner tone in his voice than I have ever heard from him before. "There's something now that must be done". Sensing that this is a conversation that isn't for me, I silently turn and walk toward the door, placing my hand on the handle. But Valjean stops me. "Juliette, I'd very much like for you to stay", he says gently. "You must hear this too". Obeying his wishes, I turn back around and stand behind Marius' chair. Valjean addresses us both. "You've spoken from the heart, and I must do the same. There is a story of slavery and shame that you alone must know". My mind races, wondering what I'm about to hear, and I listen intently. I place a hand on Marius' shoulder, and he grabs it, his hand sweaty with nerves, and his shoulder muscles as tense as my own. "I never told Cosette. She's had enough tears. She's never know the truth – the story you must hear of years ago. There lived a man whose name was Jean Valjean. He stole some bread to save his sister's son. For nineteen winters served his time. In sweat he washed away his crime. Years ago, he broke parole and lived a life apart. How could he tell Cosette and break her heart?" The emotion in his voice heightens, his love for Cosette radiating, but also evidently the source of a lot of heartache for him, a battle of wills and desires raging inside of him. "It's for Cosette this must be faced. If he is caught she is disgraced. The time has come to journey on, and from this day he must be gone", tears roll down his face as his voice breaks. "Who am I? Who am I?" He mutters to himself as he wipes his tears.

"You're Jean Valjean", Marius and I realise at the same time. Marius looks to me, a look of panic on his face. He turns back to Valjean, pleading with him.

"What can I do that will turn you from this? Monsieur, you cannot leave", Marius begs, trying to find a way out of all of this. Tears stream down my cheek as I process all this information. Valjean can't go. "Whatever I tell my beloved Cosette she will never believe!"

"Make her believe I have gone on a journey a long way away", Valjean instructs. He's thought this through. He's planned it down to the last detail, and I can tell that it pains him to think of leaving her. Cosette has been his whole life for so long. "Tell her my heart was too full for farewells, it is better this way", he says, sounding as if he is trying to convince himself as much as he is trying to convince my brother. "Promise me, Monsieur, Madam, Cosette will never know?" He looks at us both. Unable to speak, I nod my agreement.

"I give my word", Marius speaks for both of us.

"What I have spoken, why I must go", Valjean reiterates.

"For the sake of Cosette", Marius gulps, "it must be so". Numbed by what he's just heard, Marius stands up from his chair and silently heads for the door, leaving the room and closing it behind him. Monsieur Valjean and I are left alone again, and I quietly sit down.

"When do you leave?" I manage to ask.

"In a matter of days", he replies tearfully.

"Where will you go?" I ask. He pauses, as if decided whether to tell me or not.

"The convent. I had work there many years ago as a gardener. I will return there. Cosette and Marius must not know – they would only come looking for me", he says.

"I'll keep it to myself. If you ever need anything, please let me know. I owe you so much", I beseech him. And he nods, accepting my offer. I get up from my chair, and walk toward the door. But he stops me once more.

"About Enjolras' body", he carries on from where he left off when Marius entered the room. "It was Inspector Javert".

"What?" I gasp in disbelief.

"It was Inspector Javert I saw with Enjolras' body".