 After a harsh winter in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in September 1779 Flora took passage for London in the "Dunmore," a British privateer; during the voyage, she broke her arm and ill-health delayed her return to Scotland until spring 1780.She spent the next few years living with various family members, including Dunvegan, home of her son-in-law Major General Alexander Macleod, the largest landowner in Skye after the MacDonalds.The compensation received for the loss of their North Carolina estates was insufficient to allow them to settle in Nova Scotia and Allan returned to Scotland in 1784.