'No? If I had done that, monsieur, it would have meant leaving him alone with Acajou.'
It had truly not crossed his mind.
'I believed myself capable of restoring order, and so it proved.'
There is no outward show of pride at this, it is simply a statement of fact. Javert is good at keeping order for the most part.
'In addition, I will point out that I had no wish to resume any quarrel. Indeed, I did not start it to begin with - he began that by knocking into me and spilling my dinner, with very little apology. He is offended by me because his friends and I are from the same world. I did not seek him out to begin anything; as I said, I put the horse away and was merely returning to the bar. It was he who chose to intercept me.'
no subject
'No? If I had done that, monsieur, it would have meant leaving him alone with Acajou.'
It had truly not crossed his mind.
'I believed myself capable of restoring order, and so it proved.'
There is no outward show of pride at this, it is simply a statement of fact. Javert is good at keeping order for the most part.
'In addition, I will point out that I had no wish to resume any quarrel. Indeed, I did not start it to begin with - he began that by knocking into me and spilling my dinner, with very little apology. He is offended by me because his friends and I are from the same world. I did not seek him out to begin anything; as I said, I put the horse away and was merely returning to the bar. It was he who chose to intercept me.'