A/N: Chapter 2! Dinner comes next chapter though.

Eponine Thenardier: There may be the beginnings of a romance-I think it's unavoidable in the Courfeyrac line. Armand is only 16 going on 17, and the oldest of Marius' daughters can only be 14 years old at the most (if she was born in 1834 after Valjean's death).

Mlle. Patria: To be exact, Armand is occupying the room Enjolras had before he was forced to move out when the gendarmes raided his place in the autumn of 1831. I mentioned that Enjolras had once torn up the floorboards (but gave up on that measure), and was also using a recess in the wall to hide his documents. This guy meant serious business back in the day!

Colonel Despard: More Hugolian coincidences to come in this one.

The Unburied Future (II)

"Nervous again, Marius? It's just a dinner guest!"

Marius could only chuckle at this gentle jibe from his wife. "He's the son of my old friend, that's why," he explained. He fiddled with his cravat before continuing, "Even if Courfeyrac, God rest him, has been gone all these years, I still feel that I never paid him back completely."

"Maybe that's why you met his son. The name is Armand, isn't it?" Cosette replied, stepping over to help Marius with his cravat.

Marius smiled as he let Cosette help him out. "Actually it's Armand Julien, according to the letter from Monsieur Lautrec. He's three years older than our Marie-Fantine," he said.

"Three years older…he was born before the time you went to the barricades," Cosette said thoughtfully. "And you never knew he existed?"

The lawyer shook his head. "Courfeyrac was very discreet about that. I didn't ask when he moved to the Rue de la Verrerie, or even when he took a job. Apparently he was providing too for Armand and his mother. If I had known, I wouldn't have kept on borrowing five francs from him every week," he replied.

He sighed ruefully as he remembered the reason for his loan. "If it hadn't been for my dead father's memory, I would have gladly just forgotten Thenardier altogether," he thought. It still sickened him to some degree that he had been so willing to take the part of a known scoundrel, and in the process he had quite neglected his true benefactor.

Cosette gave him a sympathetic look as she finished adjusting the cravat. "What kind of man was he? All these years, you never said much about the friends you had before we were married."

"I was never sure about how to talk about the dead," Marius admitted. Nowadays the details of the past, such as the particulars of his friends, were becoming more difficult to remember. "About Courfeyrac, well you already know he was the friend I was living with. Like me, he was taking up law, but he wasn't eager to finish and pass the bar. I suspect it was because he didn't want to go back to Gascony after his studies were over."

"I knew that already, Marius," Cosette said. "But what else?"

"He was kind to everyone, he always seemed to be up to something, he knew how to make people laugh and he knew how to listen. He always lent a hand, no questions asked," Marius said more easily. It was far easier to remember his friend this way.

Cosette nodded by way of understanding. "He must have been the sort of friend you really needed at that time. Did he know about you and me?"

"No. He did ask though. Courfeyrac really had a way with women, and I wasn't about to have him giving me advice or anything of that sort."

"You sound like you were a little jealous then."

"I couldn't help it! I didn't want to lose you."

"Oh you silly," Cosette laughed. "You were the only one I had eyes for then, and even till now."

Marius kissed her cheek. "I wish I could tell you and young Armand more, but there isn't much. The best I've got is a letter that I've kept."

"Oh? Will you show it?"

"Perhaps," he said. He went over to the small bureau in their room, under which was a box full of different keepsakes and mementoes that he and Cosette had saved over the past fifteen years. He rifled through the box and brought out a letter, still folded over neatly.

"He wrote this to me on one of my birthdays. I'm not sure why I've kept it, but perhaps it's because it was just so…him," he added as he opened the note.

May 4, 1830

My friend Pontmercy,

Happy birthday! I do not think it's likely that you're expecting this letter from me, or for that matter, letters from anyone. If I am the only person to write to you today, I truly hope this letter brings you good cheer. If only you were present, I would open a bottle by way of celebration.

So I hear you are on the brink of passing the bar and taking that grave step away from student days. I would have advised you against this; you are far too young to be somber, but I suppose your need gives you no other option. Truly though, I admire your fortitude, Pontmercy. I can think of few men who could have withstood all that you have endured over these past years. I say this because I myself cannot imagine myself as Monsieur de Courfeyrac the lawyer, or as Monsieur de Courfeyrac the bourgeoisie. It does not have a nice ring to it, unlike your name and titles.

I wish though that we could have seen more of you, and that is not just in the Musain/. Each time I ask about you at the law school, I always hear that you have gone straight to your lodgings after classes, or you are at work. Nor does any one of our friends see you lingering on the Luxembourg or at any café. I do hope you aren't depriving yourself entirely of pleasures; how can you live that way? Surely a moment to chat is no expense in itself, my friend. I imagine that the theatre may be quite taxing to you in more ways than one; you would not have enjoyed Hernani as much as Prouvaire did, but there are some entertainments present that I had hoped would catch your fancy.

If there is any way I can be of assistance to you, please let me know.

As always,

M. Courfeyrac

Even as Marius read through the letter, he could almost see before him the narrow walls of the Gorbeau house, the busy streets of the Latin Quartier, and all the scenes of his youth. "How would it have been if I had really seen more of them?" he wondered as he let Cosette finish reading.

"He understood. He knew what you were facing, but he did wish it could have been easier for you," Cosette said after a while. She smiled as she pressed the letter back in Marius' hand. "So this Armand, is he anything like his father?"

"In looks," Marius said. "Though when it comes to taking after his father's character, I am not sure if I'd like that."

"Why not?"

"I'd fear for Marie-Fantine then."

Cosette rolled her eyes. "She's just a child, Marius, what harm could come to her? And besides, she's a smart and strong girl who isn't overcome so easily."

It was at that moment that Basque knocked on the door. "Baron Pontmercy, Monsieur Armand Courfeyrac is waiting downstairs," he said.

Marius and Cosette exchanged looks. "We can't keep our guest waiting. You receive him first, I'll see to the children," Cosette said.

Marius patted her hand before heading to the door. "I hope though that I can remember I am dining in the present," he thought as he went downstairs to the anteroom.