A/N: In which things take a turn...
Guest: Thanks! Yes, they can't catch a break in this universe. Though if Eponine gets to say something like that line, it sure won't be around Patron-Minette! And yes, Mme. Thenardier knew what could happen, so she tried to give Azelma the best chance she could. Courfeyrac's comment is probably saucier than you and I think; there's a reason that the other kids aren't discussing it or dignifying it. As for the 'burglar', that will be cleared up here soon.
Chapter 25: A Rescue May Make One More Lost
It quickly became clear to Fantine that the only mercy that she and Mme. Thenardier could hope for was to travel to the Prison Saint-Lazare in a fiacre instead of in an open prison wagon. 'That may be the last warmth Lisette will have for some time unless we're found right away,' she realized as she tried to get comfortable during the bumpy journey. "Don't you worry Lisette. They'll come back for us," she said in a half-cheery tone.
Mme. Thenardier shivered under her large shawl. "They should not. Prison will ruin my girls."
"Yes, but what will it do to you?" Fantine asked plaintively. She cringed as she thought back on the events of the previous hour and a half; it was clear that she had interrupted Eponine's plan at the worst possible moment, only to inadvertently further jeopardize the very person she had intended to help. 'What if the police mean to keep us in prison so they can also catch the young ones when they come back for us?' she wondered despairingly.
When she looked at Mme. Thenardier again, she saw that the ill woman's face had taken a ponderous look. "The police want either my girls, or Nicolas. Who else will come for us?" Mme. Thenardier asked.
The name of Jean Valjean almost rose to Fantine's lips but she shook her head. 'If Javert sees him, it will be La Force and worse for him then,' she realized. Cosette and Victor would only be putting themselves in harm's way if they attempted to help. 'Maybe the only way is for Monsieur Thenardier to find someone to come here,' she thought resignedly.
She saw that Mme. Thenardier was shivering more violently now. "I hope that they'll leave Paris soon. Maybe go to the ocean. Eponine has always wanted to go there. He knows of it," the older woman whispered between deep hacking coughs.
Fantine's eyes widened. "Who?"
Mme. Thenardier let out a deep sigh. "I wonder which of those young men fancies Azelma." A slight smile played across her chapped lips. "Does your Cosette have any young man courting her?"
Fantine shook her head. "If you mean by visiting and giving her flowers, then no one." She winced when she heard Mme. Thenardier cough more harshly. "Maybe you should rest-" she began just as the carriage lurched to a stop.
Moments later the carriage door opened, letting in a most unwelcome draft of cool air. "Welcome to Saint-Lazare," Perrot, extending his hand in what would have been a courteous gesture if not for the sneer on his face.
Fantine kept her hand around Mme. Thenardier's arm to keep her from tottering out of the carriage. "May I send word to my home, and ask someone to bring medicine? You can see that my friend is ill," she said firmly to the inspector.
"The infirmary here is already well stocked," Perrot snapped before motioning for the guards to assist the women. He looked intently at Fantine. "I need to speak with you urgently."
"I have to take care of her-" Fantine protested, only to feel a pair of hands clamp on her shoulders to push her towards the inspector. She cast a helpless glance at Mme. Thenardier as the latter was being led off by a warden. "I'll be back to help you, I promise!" she called to her friend, but Mme. Thenardier did not say a word or make any sign of reply.
As she followed Perrot down a corridor, she caught sight of a man seated in the prison yard, wincing as another warden bandaged his head. She quickly bowed her head, recognizing him as the man she'd seen talking to Javert some days ago. To her surprise, Perrot stopped in his tracks, swore under his breath and strode up to this injured man. "You were out of post," he barked.
"I was making sure the area was safe," the man groused in a low voice.
"Yes, but was attacking the girl necessary?" Perrot hissed. "The least you could have done was to arrest her companions, but you bungled even that! You were armed!"
"The hussy caught me by surprise, and the brat with yellow hair dealt me a fouette," the agent retorted, pointing to his injury.
Fantine had to bite back a laugh on hearing this; it had been years since she'd heard anyone mention this savate term. 'Was it Fameuil or Listolier who knew something of it?' she wondered silently but before she could mull on this further she felt Perrot's hand on her arm, guiding her to a small room furnished with two seats and a creaky desk.
Perrot heaved a sigh as he watched Fantine take a seat. "I require your utmost cooperation, Madame. You can see as well as I do that Madame Thenardier is in no condition for an interrogation."
"She couldn't have assaulted that man either," Fantine pointed out indignantly.
Perrot merely crossed his arms. "So if you are intent on setting this to rights, then tell me of the whereabouts of those revolutionaries and the Thenardier girls."
"I do not know where they are."
"You were with them, helping rescue that woman."
Fantine took a deep breath. "I only meant to visit Lisette and see how I could help. I didn't know what her daughters had planned. I know it sounds so strange and it's difficult to believe, but I wouldn't lie about this, I swear!"
Perrot's eyes narrowed. "Do you want to be considered an accomplice to sedition or insurgency?"
"Accomplice? I didn't do anything wrong, Monsieur!" Fantine gasped.
"You allowed four suspicious characters to escape," Perrot seethed. "Unless you give me their whereabouts, I may have to place you under suspicion as well."
"Monsieur Perrot, I only was there to help a friend. You know I'd have nothing to do with something so dangerous," Fantine pleaded. She could feel tears springing to her eyes but she willed herself to blink them away before Perrot could notice. "You know me. You can believe me," she added more softly.
"Is that enough? I need further proof," Perrot growled.
"What more must I do?" Fantine asked, reaching across the desk for Perrot's hands. "Tell me!"
Before Perrot could answer, a knock sounded on the door. "Monsieur Perrot, there is an Attorney Marius Pontmercy waiting to see you," a clerk bawled.
"Tell him to wait," Perrot snapped.
"He's here on behalf of the ill prisoner, Mme. Thenardier. The warden spoke to him already," the clerk said blithely.
Perrot rubbed his temples. "Wait here Madame Fabre," he ordered before stalking out of the room and shutting the door firmly behind him.
Fantine immediately sprang up from her seat and pressed her ear to the keyhole, but to her dismay it seemed as if Perrot and his guest were further away down the corridor, too far for her to catch any word or even the slightest sound. 'Whose friend is he?' she wondered as she sat back down; this name had not come up in any of her previous inquiries within the Latin Quartier. Was this lawyer a friend of the older Thenardiers or some high connection of theirs?
It seemed as if hours had passed before the door opened again, but not to admit Inspector Perrot. Instead Fantine found herself facing a slender young man with dark curly hair, who had a grave but earnest air about him. His clothes were old and his shoes in dire need of replacing but his posture was that of one born into high circumstances. "I'd like to speak to Attorney Pontmercy," Fantine said to him by way of greeting.
This stranger ducked his head with some embarrassment. "That is my name. You are Mademoiselle Fantine Fabre?"
"That is what I am called," Fantine replied, just barely able to conceal her shock at this attorney's age. "How do you know the Thenardiers?"
"My father and Monsieur Thenardier were both at Waterloo," Marius replied cordially. "My father was a colonel, and Monsieur Thenardier saved his life."
'To rob him perhaps,' Fantine couldn't help thinking. "So it was Monsieur Thenardier who sent you here for Lisette?" she asked, taking care to lower her voice.
"No, his daughters," Marius replied. "They are safe."
Fantine had to bite back the word 'where' as she regarded Marius for a long moment. 'If he's friends with the girls, does that mean he knows the young men too?' she wondered. "Monsieur, you know what they're accusing at least Eponine of?"
Marius nodded slowly. "She told me so."
"So you also know them: Enjolras, Combeferre, and Courfeyrac?" Fantine asked. "Are you sure you yourself aren't being watched by the police?"
"I should hope not," Marius said with a nervous smile.
Fantine sighed, not sure what to make of this comment. "So can you bring Lisette away from here?"
"I've argued for her release on bail, though I cannot stop the police from making further inquiries if they see it fit to do so," Marius said. "At least she will not be arrested."
Fantine managed to smile with relief. "Who paid the bail?"
"Friends of theirs," Marius said with a shrug.
'Probably those young men,' Fantine thought. "What about her daughters?"
"There is only so much that can be done," Marius admitted. "Is there a safe place where we can bring her to recuperate?"
"My home, at the Rue del'Homme Arme," Fantine said. She saw Marius' eyes widen momentarily at this. "Do you know the place?"
"Not very well," Marius replied. "We have to inform her daughters..."
"Eponine knows how to get there," Fantine informed him. 'And maybe there she and Azelma can escape police notice for a little while,' she thought. "What about Monsieur Thenardier?"
Marius looked stricken at this query. "Is it wise to do so?"
"Lisette is asking for him," Fantine said. "I do not know where he is now though."
Marius nodded gravely. "We'll notify him later. Are there any other troubles I must know about, Mademoiselle Fabre?"
Fantine thought of mentioning her own situation but she shook her head. 'It's good enough for him to do this, and I shouldn't have another person in trouble on my account,' she decided as she followed Marius to the infirmary.
By this time Mme. Thenardier was fast asleep, having been given a dose of laudanum by the prison physician. "It should stop her cough for a bit," the physician told Fantine and Marius. "Though don't tell her how much time she may have left," he added in an undertone.
"Days?" Fantine asked.
"Maybe only hours. With good care perhaps she may rise from her bed, but it will be long in telling," the physician said.
'I am not bringing Lisette to my home simply to die,' Fantine resolved. "We'll care for her as best as we can. She'll live to see her daughters' wedding days," she said to the doctor.
The doctor merely crossed himself. "God help you then."
'I am not sure if even He could,' Fantine couldn't help thinking even as she went to help Marius bring Mme. Thenardier to a waiting fiacre. She did not dare to think much on this, or even to pray during the long trip to the Rue del'Homme Arme. All she was aware of was Marius' silence as well as the weak rise and fall of Mme. Thenardier's breathing. It was only when she felt the fiacre come to a gentler stop that she became aware that now it was late afternoon and they were in a safer neighbourhood at last.
To her surprise the Thenardier sisters were already waiting with Jean Valjean, Cosette, and Victor in the front room. On seeing their mother, Eponine only sighed deeply while Azelma couldn't help but let out a cry. "Oh why didn't you come with us?" Azelma wailed as she watched Jean Valjean come up to help Fantine and Marius carry Mme. Thenardier in.
Mme. Thenardier stirred weakly at her daughter's voice. "What are you doing here?"
"Waiting for you. It's safe here," Eponine replied, clasping her mother's hand. "Monsieur Combeferre and the others went out to get medicines for you; they should be here soon."
In the meantime, Cosette smiled as she looked from Fantine to Marius. "Thank you for helping my mother too, Monsieur," she said to him.
Marius' cheeks reddened. "It was the least I could do, Cosette-I mean, Mademoiselle Fabre."
Fantine's eyebrows shot up on hearing this young man use her daughter's given name. 'Now who told him about that?' she wondered as she helped Mme. Thenardier into one of the beds in the room she shared with Cosette. "I'll sleep in the front room," she said, noticing Cosette's worried look.
"It's still cold there, Maman," Cosette said. "We can bring another mattress into our room, and Eponine and Azelma can stay with us too."
"It's a tight fit," Eponine pointed out. She bit her lip as she looked around the tiny apartment. "Could we go back to the Rue Plumet soon instead?"
Fantine shook her head. "When the weather gets warmer. Maybe summer," she said, only to see Eponine roll her eyes. "We have no choice but to make do here, unless your father comes up with some idea for all of you," she pointed out.
Eponine bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. "He's not coming, not at all. I just haven't told Maman yet since I know what it would do to her."
"What do you mean by not coming?" Fantine blurted out. She regretted it the moment she saw Eponine turn away and shake her head. "You spoke to him, didn't you?"
"He left a note with an old friend," Eponine said, drawing a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket. "Read it if you want, Madame Fantine."
Fantine took one look at the stained, reeking missive, and shook her head as she curled Eponine's fingers around the paper. "You may as well burn it. I don't think any of us can bear its contents, not on a night like this."