In spite of these deplorable conditions, by the conclusion of our first day, we had progressed as far as Cambrai. There, a night was passed in a draughty but private room at the Dauphin, an inn described in Mr Nugent’s book. All night the rain drummed upon the roof and poured through the chimney at such a rate as to extinguish the fire twice. By the following morning, much to my horror, it appeared as if the Paris road had swollen into a flowing brown river. However, my fearless coachman refused to be put off by the mere ‘puddles’ along our route. So, the team of horses plodded on steadily through the morass, throwing out a murky soup upon the carriage. I continued to glance uneasily through the filth-strewn windows as the coach lurched and shook and jumped. My concern increasingly turned to my boxes upon the roof, for there were a good number of them bearing down upon us as we sank and rose through the muck.

We had slowly rocked from side to side, like a ship upon the seas, until it came: a sudden, mighty jolt. I am only grateful that Lucy was sitting beside me, and not upon the bench opposite, for in one swift motion we were both pitched forward, and then amid our howls of terror dropped like two heavy stones upon the floor. I gasped for breath and, as I did so, noted that the entire cabin had tilted backward. It seemed to have fallen between its hind wheels and come to rest upon the ground.

‘Are you well, madam? Have you an injury?’ My maid’s freckled face peered at me. I nodded at her, for I felt no pain, only shock.

‘And you?’ I enquired as we attempted to disentangle our skirts, books and scattered sewing boxes.

‘I have had a fright, madam. That is all.’

At that moment the coachman threw wide the door, his expression a picture of anguish and fear at what he might discover. He seemed to take some relief at spying us, shaken but unharmed.

‘It was the axletree,’ he explained. ‘The roads have broken it. We require another, but must wait here to be rescued. It is four miles to Saint-Quentin, to the first inn.’ He then turned and shouted through the rain to the footman, ordering him to set forth immediately. ‘It will be some hours before his return.’ Water poured from the brim of his tricorn hat; his nose throbbed red. ‘It is best if you remain within the cabin, mademoiselle. I shall stand upon the road, and perhaps, if God is considerate, he may deliver us assistance.’