Valjean realizes that with Javert back on his trail, he is lost if he goes back into the outside world. It is imperative that he remain in the convent. But even with Fauchelevent's loyal assistance, the difficulties are insuperable. He cannot wander very far in this community of women. He cannot even stay hidden, for the convent has boarding students, whose tireless curiosity would soon betray the fugitives. Valjean's only hope is to be officially accepted by the nuns under some plausible alias. But to return in a normal way, he must first leave the convent undetected.
Both men fruitlessly examine the problem until Fauchelevent is summoned by the prioress. She gives him a confidential mission. A nun, Sister Crucifixion, has died that morning. Her last wish was to be buried in the vault under the altar. As this is against the law, a bit of subterfuge is required to carry out her request. The prioress asks Fauchelevent to come back before midnight, after the coroner's visit, to nail down the coffin and bury it in the vault. Later he is to accompany an earth-filled casket to the cemetery to throw the authorities off the track. As he listens to the instructions, Fauchelevent, who is not without peasant shrewdness, has been suggesting that he has a brother who could usefully help him in the garden and a niece who might become a nun if she were allowed to go to school at the convent. Satisfied with Fauchelevent's cooperation, the prioress gives him permission to bring his supposed brother and niece to the convent to live.
