Part 2, Chapter 6 Summary

Abigail was terrified by the sea and begged John to come home. She was free to travel, however, because her esteemed father died in September, and his entreaties had kept her from going to Europe earlier. Her eldest son was serving in Europe. Charles and Thomas were boarding with the Shaws, and Nabby's life was primed to move on.

Royall Tyler, a young lawyer, was showing interest in Nabby, but there were rumors about "dissipation" in his past. Adams thought her too young for marriage and disliked Tyler's "courting" her mother. The romance was suspended, but Abigail wanted her husband home to investigate further. When she learned he was appointed ambassador to the British Court, she begged him to refuse, certain that she would be an awkward figure in London. He pressed her to sail, and when he revealed that he...