He wonders briefly whether she means Marius had a friend once, who gardened, or a friend who gardened on one occasion, but it does not matter. The sound of her voice is more important than what she says.

'I am sure he knows all about it. He is very clever, is he not? If there is anything he does not know, I'm sure he would learn it very quickly.'

Those gloves suit her very well. He thinks perhaps he has seen them before, and it is strange, is it not, that a woman of Cosette's means should not have an entire cupboard full of gloves by now.