at time being too good for him to
be ill-natured. He had all he wanted out of his sister, so her
outbursts amused him.

Mary hurriedly left the king and walked back to her room, filled with
shame and rage; feelings actively stimulated by Jane, who was equally
indignant.

Henry had noticed Jane's frown, but had laughed at her, and had tried
to catch and kiss her as she left; but she struggled away from him and
fled with a speed worthy of the cause.

This insulting suggestion put a stop to Mary's visit to the Tower more
effectually than any refusal could have done, and she sat down to pour
forth her soul's indignation in a letter.

She remained at home then, but saw Brandon later, and to good purpose,
as I believe, although I am not sure about it, even to this day.

I took this letter to Brandon, along with Mary's miniature--the one
that had been painted for Charles of Germany, but had never been
given--and a curl of her hair, and it looked as if this was all he
would ever possess of her.

De Longueville heard of Henry's brutal consent that Mary might see
Brandon, and, with a Frenchman's belief in woman's depravity, was
exceedingly anxious to keep them apart. To this end he requested that
a member of his own retinue be placed near Brandon. To this Henry
readily consented, and there was an end to even the letter-writing.
Opportunities increase in value doubly fast as they drift behind us,
and now that the princess could not see Brandon, or even write to him,
she regretted with her whole soul that she had not gone to the Tower
when she had permission, regardless of what any one would say or
think.

Mary was imperious and impatient, by nature, but upon rare and urgent
occasions could employ the very smoothest sort of finesse.

Her promise to marry Louis of France had been given under the stress
of a frantic fear for Brandon, and without the slightest mental
reservation, for it was given to save his life, as she would have
given her hands or her eyes, her life or her very soul itself; but now
that the imminent danger was passed she began to revolve schemes to
evade her promise and save Brandon notwithstanding. She knew that
under the present arrangement his life depended upon her marriage, but
she had never lost faith in her ability to handle the king if she had
but a little time in which to operate, and had secretly regretted that
she had not, in place of flight, opened up her campaign along the line
of feminine d