"He is," the man said shortly, "but he does not see people on business after the office is closed." Leigh saw that his dress, as a sailor, did not impress the man. "I think he will see us," he said, "if you take the name up to him. Will you tell him that Citoyenne Martin wishes to speak to him." A minute later the merchant himself, a handsome man of about the same age as Jean Martin, came down. "Ah! madame, I am glad indeed to see you," he said; for he had more than once been up to Nantes, during the time she was living there, and had been frequently at the house. "I have been in great anxiety about you." "Has Jean been here?" she asked, in a tone of intense anxiety. "No, madame, I have heard nothing of him for many months; not, indeed, since his lugger first came down here, with his letter and the deed of her sale to myself. Did you expect to find him here?" "I hoped so, although there was no arrangement between us to meet here. Still, I thought that he would have made his way down here, if possible, as he would then be able to escape in the lugger." "He may have found it more difficult than he thought," Monsieur Flambard said, soothingly. "But do not let us be standing here. Pray, come up. My wife will be glad to welcome you, for she has often heard me speak of Martin's English wife." Leigh had been standing behind Patsey while they spoke but, as the merchant closed the door, his eye fell upon him. "Ah, monsieur, now I recognize you. You are Monsieur Leigh Stansfield, the brother of madame. I welcome you also, cordially." So saying, he led the way upstairs. Chapter 17: A Grave Risk. Nothing could be kinder than the reception of the fugitives by Madame Flambard. She had heard so much of Patsey, she said, from her husband, to whom she had been married six months before, that she had quite shared his anxiety about the fate of Jean Martin, who had more than once been mentioned as being one of the leaders of the Vendeans. She soon went off with Patsey to put the child to bed and, while they were away, Monsieur Flambard took Leigh into his smoking room.