Caution and judgment still sat enthroned, and they told him now
what he knew full well they would not tell him after a short
time--that failure was certain to follow the attempt, and disaster
sure to follow failure. First, the king would, in all probability, cut
off his head upon an intimation of Mary's possible fondness for him;
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.
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