"I heard about them working on the church together," Combeferre says, sensing that an explanation is needed.

He pauses. "But I don't know if they're from the same time--indeed, I don't see how they can be, if Hugo's account is accurate. The spy commits suicide sometime before Mlle Fauchelevent's marriage to Marius."

Of course, Hugo may have embroidered the truth, or altered it to suit his literary vision.