Monsieur Jondrette returned later to find Les-Pieds-en-L'Air with his head resting against the door.

"Why're you out here?" the good man asked.

The bandit quickly told of how he had come to be locked out of the room, and, much to his consternation, Jondrette laughed. The former innkeeper knocked on the door and cried, "Deux-Milliards! Open up, now!" and the door was opened.

Jondrette and Les-Pied-en-L'Air returned to the room to find their guest pacing up and down, muttering to himself. His squire and his lady sat against the wall, staring up at him.

"Ah!" Enjolras cried upon sighting Jondrette, "Your lordship has returned!"

Jondrette seemed nervous. "I have."

"My lord… I have been given a quest."

"So you'll be leaving, then?" Montparnasse eagerly interrupted.

Enjolras laid a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Have no fear, good serf, for I shall not accept the quest."

Montparnasse could do nothing but splutter, and Jondrette demanded, "What? Why not?"

Enjolras beckoned the man come closer and whispered into his ear; "I… have never been knighted."

"What?" Jondrette said again.

"Shh!" he hissed. "It's true. Could you… my lord… could you knight me?"

"If I… ahem… If I knight you, do you promise to accept the quest?" Jondrette asked carefully.

"Of course, my lord!" Enjolras assured him.

Jondrette nodded slowly. "Then I'll do it."

"Huzzah!" Enjolras cried, and Grantaire leapt to his feet. "Now we must prepare." The soon-to-be-knighted knight glanced around the room. "But… my lord, where is your sword?"

Glancing at the poker hung at Enjolras's side, Jondrette indicated to his own fireplace poker on the other side of the room.

"Oy, you!" Grantaire cried, pointing to a figure by the fireplace. "Old woman!"

"Man!" the figure replied irritably.

"Man," Grantaire corrected himself. "Sorry. Can you bring us that… that sword, there?"

The man was silent for a moment. "I'm thirty-seven," he said sulkily.

"I… What?"

"I'm thirty-seven," he repeated. "I'm not old."

"Well," Grantaire sighed, "I can't just call you 'Man'!"

"You could say 'Mangedentelle.'"

"Well, I didn't know you were called 'Mangedentelle," Grantaire said.

"And you didn't bother to find out, did you?"

"I did say 'sorry' about the 'old woman', but with all those rags you looked-"

"What is it you want?" Mangedentelle demanded.

"Just the, uh, fireplace poker… there," said Grantaire, pointing.

Mangedentelle passed Grantaire the poker, who then handed it to Enjolras, who passed it to Jondrette. "Now what?" the former innkeeper asked.

Enjolras got on his knees in front of the man. "Now your lordship knights me."

"And then you'll go on your quest?"

"I shall at the first light of dawn tomorrow."

"Good," Jondrette sighed. He touched both of Enjolras's shoulders with the poker and said, "Um… Enjolras de Paris… I hereby dub thee knight."

"Your lordship!" Enjolras protested.

"What now?"

"It is customary for your lordship to grant a new knight another name, if your lordship could devise such a name for me."

Jondrette stared at him for a moment. "All right, then... hail knight of the marbled countenance."

Beaming, Enjolras got back to his feet. "Did you hear, my squire? My lady? I have been dubbed Knight of the Marbled Countenance."

Grantaire nodded. "It suits you," Eponine murmured, smiling dreamily.

Montparnasse glowered at them all.