"You are doing well." What could be construed as praise was, to Enjolras and typically when spoken by him, merely a statement of fact. Joly had adapted well, was continuing to adapt well. So much the better for all of them.

"And as for Madame Pontmercy and her supposed Lancelot, she is quite charming, but I trust Courfeyrac not to betray his sense of propriety and certainly not when her husband is concerned." Conspiratorially, he leaned closer to Joly, so much so that their foreheads nearly touched. Despite the proximity, however, he kept his voice loud enough to be heard, not ostentatiously, but still well above the dull roar of the party around them. "It would be a terrible thing to do to Marius. Worse still because of his debt to Courfeyrac. It is unthinkable and I refuse to accept the legitimacy of such speculations, no matter how things might appear."

That should give the tabloids fuel for a few days. The seeds of deceit firmly planted, he backed away, allowing Joly his personal space again. They had to appear to be as genuinely secretive as possible and, despite Enjolras' normal aversion to overt physical displays of the kind, there was no doubt that they sent a powerful message. "Courfeyrac will find another young woman to charm away quickly enough. Of that I am sure."

Perhaps if he were paying more attention to the screen, he might have caught the irony of the sentiment. It seemed a realistic belief, if nothing else, the evidence clearly illustrated through the lull of Venus' head onto Courfeyrac's shoulder.