Hugo brings us right back to the place where we started the first chapter of this “book” within the novel - Cosette is in her little “safe space” of sorts, under the table where she can have a semblance of privacy, and four new visitors have arrived at the inn. We quickly learn that Cosette is now eight years old, but as a result of the harsh treatment and terrible conditions she lives with, she has been forced to develop a shrewdness far beyond her years.
Hugo also reminds us of the reality of Cosette’s situation and just how violent it was - he lets us know that she had a black eye from a violent strike at the hands of mistress Thenardier, and that the same woman was ridiculing her for the way it made her look. In some ways this is more upsetting than the whole of the last chapter, because the mundane nature of it all drops us right into the shoes of this eight year old girl and the non-stop trauma she was experiencing. it’s a bit gut-wrenching despite the fact it occupies a mere sentence in the chapter.
Quickly we’re dropped into some brewing conflict: the water is quickly running out with the late arrival of this group of travelers and Cosette is dreading the almost inevitable news that she will need to go out and fetch water from the spring. We noted earlier that she would work hard to avoid doing this at night for it was frightening (and surely dangerous) to go out beyond the town in the dark as a small child. The drama is increased as people note just how dark it is - dark enough that making your way without a lantern would be nearly impossible.
It’s at this point that one of the travelers notes that his horse had not been watered. Cosette quickly chimes in that she had watered the horse and talked to it earlier - Hugo immediately tells us this was a lie. Cosette doubles then triples down on her lie, to the point that the traveler notes that she’s perfected the art like an adult (my words not Hugo’s). With the harsh reminder that Cosette is “good for nothing” (despite the fact that the Thenardiers through their use and abuse of her have extracted tremendous value) the master opf the house insists she leave immediately to get the water and gives her some change to buy a loaf of bread while she is out.
The chapter ends with Cosette about to go out into the dark, forced to face her fears despite her scramble to avoid it. It’s a stark reminder of just how awful her situation really is and how powerless she is to doing anything about it.