"He did." But Bahorel catches the trend of Feuilly's astonishment. "You only have to talk to her to know she sees him as her own father, and she's a bright and happy girl. But, Fauchelevent-- he didn't start out bourgeois. He was a peasant; a poor family, at that. Poor enough he had to act illegally to keep them fed, and didn't have a chance of appeal when he was caught."

Bahorel runs a hand through his hair and laughs a little. "And if you're going to ask me for the whole story past that we're going to need to order lunch in. But: they disappeared while he was in prison--you can guess how that goes-- and he began his new life as M. Fauchelevent so he could live beyond that yellow passport."

No need to explain or defend Fauchelevent's technical crimes, the cruel choices on offer to poverty. Feuilly doesn't need Hugo or Bahorel to spell that out for him.