A short distance below the Tower, we met a large boat belonging to
the ship in which George had come from France, which was waiting off
Sheerness to take him back. The boat had been plying between Deptford and
the Bridge, looking for George, since early evening. We recognized it by
its long sweeps, and when we hailed it, we received the password and drew
alongside.
All this time Frances had been allowed to sit in the bottom of the boat,
she having assured us that she had taken no injury, but as we approached
the French boat she arose, and when I asked her if she was hurt, she
said, "No."
When I asked her if she had the treaty, she replied, holding out her hand
to George:--
"Yes, here it is. It would have been a pity, indeed, to have lost it
after all our trouble."
As we drew alongside the French boat, Hamilton whispered to Frances:--
"You have nothing to fear from the king. This affair shows him in a light
so ridiculous that he will not care to make it public, and besides, he
will not want to return the hundred thousand pounds. You will be safe in
London, and I shall write to you just as soon as I return to France. If
King Louis's reward proves to be what I expect, I pray you come to me,
for, after this affair, I dare not set my foot in England."
At that moment we touched the other boat, and the Frenchmen grappled us
to hold us alongside. George had risen and was about to step aboard, when
Frances, catching him by the arm, drew him back and sprang aboard the
French boat ahead of him, saying:--
"I shall not wait for a letter.
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