Chapter 21 Taming.
They were eating together in silence. Neither Javert nor Cosette had spoken and said anything. Yet, Cosette had thousands of questions to ask him but she did not find the courage to ask any. She would have liked to know his name and also to know what had kept him busy all the time that she had stayed here with Anicette and Matthias. She would have liked to know where they would go next and where they would live. But Cosette dared not disturb him. This face, after all, was not reassuring, how could he react to such questions. Madam had already told her that curiosity was a shameful flaw and that she should always mind her own business. When she cast a glance at Javert, she caught the inspector's cold and inquisitive eye. At that moment, she was pretty sure that her cheeks had turned as red as the tomatoes in the vegetable garden, and so she immediately lowered her eyes.
"You didn't lack anything here, child?"
Cosette's heart leapt into her chest, and she looked up; it was indeed the inspector who had just spoken, and he was waiting for an answer, quickly. "Yes! Anicette and Mattias were nice to me" she managed to articulate.
"Good." Javert contemplated her for a moment before continuing, "We're going to Paris, you and I. You'll never see Anicette or Matthias again. Does that suit you? See, kid, I'm giving you a choice, and it's up to you: you can come with me or you can stay here. If you choose to stay here, we'll never see each other again. Do you understand? You can't have both."
Cosette looked at him seriously; she had understood what the inspector was saying to her. She swept the room with her eyes, behind the counter, Anicette was talking to clients. She looked seriously at the young woman whom she had come to appreciate. And the inn, the farm near the forest with its chickens and Etoile and Prunelle? On one side, she had this little world that she had been living in for only two days, the warm arms of Anicette who hugged her every time she cried, her kisses and the good bread when she woke up. And on the other side, she had this man she knew nothing of, with his eyes that pierced you and that face that never smiled. But he had saved her, he had taken her out of the hands of the Thenardiers. And despite being only eight years old, Cosette knew she owed him everything.
"I'm coming with you," said Cosette, staring at the inspector.
At that moment, an invisible contract was made between these two beings. They were tied to each other and wherever Javert would go, Cosette would follow him. Javert's heart had opened, Cosette had entered and it immediately closed.
That evening, when Javert lay down in the bed, he felt Cosette's arms creep around his neck and then he felt the warmth of her body against his back. "What are you doing, Cosette? »
"I want to make sure you'll still be there tomorrow morning."
As ice melts in the sun, Javert's heart did not resist to Cosette for long. Cosette's warmth would have been enough to warm him that evening; he did not immediately find sleep, but he was at peace. She had slipped her hand on his face and she was now caressing his sideburns. She had tamed him and Javert had no choice but to let go.