and, second, if he should be so fortunate as to keep his head, Mary
could not, and certainly would not, marry him, even if she loved him
with all her heart. The distance between them was too great, and she
knew too well what she owed to her position. There was but one thing
left--New Spain; and he determined while sitting there to sail with
the next ship.

The real cause of Brandon's manner had never occurred to Mary.
Although she knew her beauty and power, as she could not help but know
it--not as a matter of vanity, but as a matter of fact--yet love had
blinded her where Brandon was concerned, and that knowledge failed to
give her light as to his motives, however brightly it might illumine
the conduct of other men toward whom she was indifferent.

So Mary was angry this time; angry in earnest, and Jane felt the
irritable palm more than once. I, too, came in for my share of her ill
temper, as most certainly would Brandon, had he allowed himself to
come within reach of her tongue, which he was careful not to do. An
angry porcupine would have been pleasant company compared with Mary
during this time. There was no living with her in peace. Even the king
fought shy of her, and the queen was almost afraid to speak. Probably
so much general disturbance was never before or since collected within
one small body as in that young Tartar-Venus, Mary. She did not tell
Jane the cause of her vexation, but only said she "verily hated
Brandon," and that, of course, was the key to the whole situation.

After a fortnight, this ill-humor began to soften in the glowing
warmth of her heart, which was striving to reassert itself, and the
desire to see Brandon began to get the better of her sense of injury.