_CHAPTER VII_

_Love's Fierce Sweetness_


After we had all returned to Greenwich the princess and Brandon were
together frequently. Upon several occasions he was invited, with
others, to her parlor for card playing. But we spent two evenings,
with only four of us present, prior to the disastrous events which
changed everything, and of which I am soon to tell you. During these
two evenings the "Sailor Lass" was in constant demand.

This pair, who should have remained apart, met constantly in and about
the palace, and every glance added fuel to the flame. Part of the time
it was the princess with her troublesome dignity, and part of the time
it was Mary--simply girl. Notwithstanding these haughty moods, anyone
with half an eye could see that the princess was gradually succumbing
to the budding woman; that Brandon's stronger nature had dominated her
with that half fear which every woman feels who loves a strong
man--stronger than herself.

One day the rumor spread through the court that the old French king,
Louis XII, whose wife, Anne of Brittany, had just died, had asked
Mary's hand in marriage. It was this, probably, which opened Brandon's
eyes to the fact that he had been playing with the very worst sort of
fire; and first made him see that in spite of himself, and almost
without his knowledge, the girl had grown wonderfully sweet and dear
to him. He now saw his danger, and struggled to keep himself beyond
the spell of her perilous glances and siren song. This modern Ulysses