“Pardieu!” Courfeyrac turns to his sheepishly smiling friend and claps him on both shoulders. “So you shall be the first of us sacrificed on the altar of middle class morality. Marius will be devastated.” Combeferre opened his mouth to protest, but Courfeyrac held up his hand. “And I would chide you terribly for it if I was not so deliriously happy for you. What a surprise.” With a twinkle in his eye, he turns back to Sybil. “He didn’t make a mess of the proposal, did he?”

“Courfeyrac!"