Page 675 - les-miserables

The man resumed, in a voice which he strove to render
indifferent, but in which there was, nevertheless, a singular
tremor:—
‘What does your Madame Thenardier do?’
‘She is my mistress,’ said the child. ‘She keeps the inn.’
‘The inn?’ said the man. ‘Well, I am going to lodge there
to-night. Show me the way.’
‘We are on the way there,’ said the child.
The man walked tolerably fast. Cosette followed him
without difficulty. She no longer felt any fatigue. From time
to time she raised her eyes towards the man, with a sort of
tranquillity and an indescribable confidence. She had never
been taught to turn to Providence and to pray; nevertheless,
she felt within her something which resembled hope and
joy, and which mounted towards heaven.
Several minutes elapsed. The man resumed:—
‘Is there no servant in Madame Thenardier’s house?’
‘No, sir.’
‘Are you alone there?’
‘Yes, sir.’
Another pause ensued. Cosette lifted up her voice:—
‘That is to say, there are two little girls.’
‘What little girls?’
‘Ponine and Zelma.’
This was the way the child simplified the romantic names
so dear to the female Thenardier.
‘Who are Ponine and Zelma?’
‘They are Madame Thenardier’s young ladies; her daugh-
ters, as you would say.’

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