I also suggested in my letter that the king of France was trying to buy the city of Dunkirk from King Charles, and that because of the friendly negotiations then pending, Louis might give heed to our king's request.
In that case, it might be well, I thought, for Hamilton to leave France at once.
With this urgency in mind, I suggested to Frances and Betty that I cross to Calais alone, regardless of the weather, leaving them at Dover till my return.

But they would not be left behind, so we all set sail on a blustery morning and paid for our temerity with a day of suffering.

In Calais we posted our letters, having learned that a messenger would leave that same day for Paris, and two days later we returned to Dover.
Our journey home was made in the rain, Bettina sleeping with her head on my shoulder a great part of the way.

And I enjoyed the rain even more than I had enjoyed the sunshine.
We reached London nearly a week before the king's return, so that nothing was known of our journey at court..