Either of these surmises, if true, was enough to mar my peace of mind, but together they brought me trouble indeed.
I had come to look for a speedy accomplishment of my cousin's good fortune, and also to regard Hamilton as my dearest friend among men.
Still I was helpless to remedy these evils if they really existed.

What I did at the time was to insist, first, that Frances regain her senses as soon as possible, and second, that she say nothing of her intention to leave Whitehall for at least ten days.

To my first request she replied that she had never been so completely in possession of her senses as at that present moment, and my second, she positively refused to consider.
The best of women want their way, at least in part, so I said, "I abandon my first request as unreasonable." She looked up to me, hardly knowing whether to laugh or to frown, but she chose the former, and I continued, "And as to my second suggestion, I amend it to, say, five or six days." "Three!" she insisted.

So we let it stand at that, each with a sense of triumph.
We returned to the palace, and soon I had an opportunity to ask the king for a word privately.

He graciously consented, and led me to his closet, overlooking the River Thames.