Part 289 (2/2)
”But we have a fire until June. One is needed all the year in this cellar.”
”I thought that a fire was unnecessary.”
”That is exactly like one of your ideas!” retorted Cosette.
On the following day there was a fire. But the two arm-chairs were arranged at the other end of the room near the door. ”--What is the meaning of this?” thought Jean Valjean.
He went for the arm-chairs and restored them to their ordinary place near the hearth.
This fire lighted once more encouraged him, however. He prolonged the conversation even beyond its customary limits. As he rose to take his leave, Cosette said to him:
”My husband said a queer thing to me yesterday.”
”What was it?”
”He said to me: 'Cosette, we have an income of thirty thousand livres.
Twenty-seven that you own, and three that my grandfather gives me.' I replied: 'That makes thirty.' He went on: 'Would you have the courage to live on the three thousand?' I answered: 'Yes, on nothing. Provided that it was with you.' And then I asked: 'Why do you say that to me?' He replied: 'I wanted to know.'”
Jean Valjean found not a word to answer. Cosette probably expected some explanation from him; he listened in gloomy silence. He went back to the Rue de l'Homme Arme; he was so deeply absorbed that he mistook the door and instead of entering his own house, he entered the adjoining dwelling. It was only after having ascended nearly two stories that he perceived his error and went down again.
His mind was swarming with conjectures. It was evident that Marius had his doubts as to the origin of the six hundred thousand francs, that he feared some source that was not pure, who knows? that he had even, perhaps, discovered that the money came from him, Jean Valjean, that he hesitated before this suspicious fortune, and was disinclined to take it as his own,--preferring that both he and Cosette should remain poor, rather than that they should be rich with wealth that was not clean.
Moreover, Jean Valjean began vaguely to surmise that he was being shown the door.
On the following day, he underwent something like a shock on entering the ground-floor room. The arm-chairs had disappeared. There was not a single chair of any sort.
”Ah, what's this!” exclaimed Cosette as she entered, ”no chairs! Where are the arm-chairs?”
”They are no longer here,” replied Jean Valjean.
”This is too much!”
Jean Valjean stammered:
”It was I who told Basque to remove them.”
”And your reason?”
”I have only a few minutes to stay to-day.”
”A brief stay is no reason for remaining standing.”
”I think that Basque needed the chairs for the drawing-room.”
”Why?”
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