Cosette notes the change in his expression and hardly has a chance to react before he pushes her aside. She cries out when the blade of the spear slices her arm and she stumbles to the ground, wide eyed. Never experiencing anything more than a minor cut in her life, the pain sears through her arm as tears spring to the corners of her eyes. She scrambles from the woman with the spear, as much as she can at the very least.

And, if she can't help any other way, Cosette has stuck her foot out to trip the woman in case she decides to go after Marius in her place.