Cosette has been separated from Valjean for the last 24 hours and she has spent that time terrified and in utter silence. Just as she was starting to get comfortable with him they launch into this two day long terrifying ordeal where they run from the law, end up at the convent, hide, and now she has been dropped with a stranger. When she sees Valjean again she is overjoyed.
They find themselves seated before the reverend mother, pretending to be something they are not, and their lives depend on it:
- Valjean is pretending to be Fauchelevent’s brother Ulime, who is actually dead
- Cosette is pretending to be Ulime’s grandaughter
- Fauchelevent is doing all the talking
After some back and forth the matter is settled. They’ll get Ulime a bell that matches his brothers and take the grandaughter into the boarding school. WHat makes the final decision? One of the sisters observes that Cosette will grow to be a plain woman, and because of that she is deemed to be a good fit.