Chapter 10 Shaken
More than a week had passed since Javert's last encounter with Fantine. He tried to forget her. He tried so hard that he failed and had the opposite result. Not a morning went by without him waking up sweating, his mind troubled by dreams and nightmares. This past, which he had always fled, came back like a mighty wind to harass him, and he began to hate Fantine for having revived in him these painful memories. If during the day he managed to channel his thoughts, to stifle them under a heap of work, at night, as the woman had said, everything was amplified and he was unable to hold his thoughts under a yoke.
In his dreams, he saw the little boy he had been, wandering the streets in search of shelter and of a piece of bread. He felt nothing but cold and hunger. What's your name, kid? Javert. Where are your parents? He shrugged. Where do you live? Nowhere. You want to come with me? The young child, having nowhere else to go, accepted, grasping the hand of the one who offered it, growing to become what he was today. In his nightmares, Javert saw this hand moving away from and become unreachable. And the earth tore beneath his feet, and the sky became black, and he was lost, swallowed up in darkness.
His torments dissipated when he received a letter from the chief of police. The letter arrived at his home, and he read it as soon as he noticed the police official seal. Although Fantine had occupied much of his thoughts for several days, Javert had not forgotten Monsieur Madeleine. The letter was probably the go-ahead from the prefecture to stop him. Javert hastily unfolded it and read it, standing on the threshold of the front door. Here is a summary of what the letter said: the chief of police congratulated Javert on his meticulous work, but informed him that Jean Valjean had recently been arrested and that he would soon be in Arras for trial. Javert was also invited to see the prisoner himself in prison in Arras before he appeared in court. Javert's face had turned as white as linen. Jean Valjean was behind bars, that simple news should have satisfied the inspector. Justice would be done and soon the convict would be imprisoned for good and would certainly return to prison for life.
However, Javert, only felt satisfied for a short moment for he immediately realized that he had done something terrible, shameful and reprehensible for a police officer like him. Then Monsieur Madeleine was innocent? Worse still, had he really accused an honest man of being the most infamous convict he had ever met? What was to be done now? His conscience was accusing him. Yet another trouble on an already tortured mind. Was it possible that he was wrong, the one who was so sure of himself? There was still some doubt. He had to see that man.
Fantine had come to forget the little altercation she had with Inspector Javert. She was sad not to see him the following Monday for she would have apologized if he had come. The incident, while it had created a hurricane in Javert, had scarcely disturbed Fantine's quiet heart. The poor man, she thought. What worried her was Cosette. And if, for a moment, she had felt some sympathy for the inspector, and she felt some compassion for this man. How did she feel when her fingers touched the cold hand of the inspector when he handed her the glass of water? She felt in her body an inexplicable tingling. She did not tell anyone about what had happened, not even Monsieur Madeleine.
One morning Fantine was awakened by the sound of footsteps and voices echoing in the hallway; she hardly had time to get up when the door opened.
"Ah, she's still sleeping," Fantine recognized Sister Simplice's voice.
"I'll come back another time, thank you sister," she recognized Javert's voice this time.
"Wait. »
Fantine stood up and sat on her bed. Javert, who had already passed the door, suddenly turned around to face her. The two sisters had already rushed to Fantine's bed for her morning routine. When it was over, they went out of the room and left the inspector alone with the young woman. She sat on her bed, smiling at him, her blonde curly hair done like a halo on her. Javert stepped forward, bowed his head slightly to salute her, then stood before her as one would stand before a general of the army.
"I have come to tell you that I am leaving," said Javert briefly and swiftly.
"Where? »
"I have business outside the city. But I will come back. »
"Very good, Inspector."
A long, embarrassed silence followed. They both stared at each other, Fantine not knowing what to answer and Javert not knowing how to end their interview. What a strange man, she thought, gazing at him with perplexity.
"Well... go ahead, Inspector" Fantine was not sure what Javert expected from her.
"Goodbye,…" Javert's sentence hung in the air. He hazarded his gaze upon her, their eyes met, and then he immediately lowered his eyes. And without being able to say anything, the inspector salute her and left the room.