with ceremony, as, in fact, she had done with us earlier in the
evening. But Brandon's easy manner, although perfectly respectful and
elegantly polite, was very different from anything she had ever known.
She enjoyed it, but every now and then the sense of her importance and
dignity--for you must remember she was the first princess of the blood
royal--would supersede even her love of enjoyment, and the girl went
down and the princess came up. Besides, she half feared that Brandon
was amusing himself at her expense, and that, in fact, this was a new
sort of masculine worm. Really, she sometimes doubted if it were a
worm at all, and did not know what to expect, nor what she ought to
do.

She was far more girl than princess, and would have preferred to
remain merely girl and let events take the course they were going,
for she liked it. But there was the other part of her which was
princess, and which kept saying: "Remember who you are," so she was
plainly at a loss between natural and artificial inclinations
contending unconsciously within her.

Replying to Mary's remark over Jane's shoulder, Brandon said:

"Your highness asked us to lay aside ceremony for the evening, and if
I have offended I can but make for my excuse my desire to please you.
Be sure I shall offend no more." This was said so seriously that his
meaning could not be misunderstood. He did not care whether he pleased
so capricious a person or not.

Mary made no reply, and it looked as if Brandon had the worst of it.

We sat a few minutes talking, Mary wearing an air of dignity. Cards