In the suburb of Saint Germain is located an unobtrusive little house, the former love nest of an eighteenth-century magistrate. Among its features, there is a secret exit onto another street which allowed the amorous but prudent judge to visit his mistress without arousing suspicion. In October 1829, Jean Valjean has rented the long-vacant house under the name of Fauchelevent, reopened the secret passageway, and installed Cosette and an old servant, Toussaint, in this new residence. In spite of his happiness in the convent, he decided after much thought to leave Little Picpus. He felt that he owed it to Cosette to provide her with a normal life in spite of the dangers this would present to his personal safety. As an added precaution, he has rented two other old apartments in Paris as potential retreats; one is that to which Marius previously traced Cosette.
Except for a few luxuries for Cosette, the pair lives modestly and above all discreetly. They take walks in the Luxembourg Gardens, go to mass, give generously to the beggars at the door of the church, and visit the poor and sick. Valjean serves in the National Guard, an obligation that he welcomes since it gives him an aura of respectability. Buoyed by Cosette's companionship, Valjean enjoys the simplicity of his new life.
The young girl is happy too. Her garden is a world of endless discoveries. In Valjean she finds an interesting friend who shares with her the fruits of his wide readings; he is her universe, both father and mother to her, and she fusses over his cold room and his Spartan diet. She hardly remembers her past and has completely forgotten her mother, for Valjean never mentions her. A mysterious instinct warns her that her origins are a subject better left unmentioned.
