To begin with, Brandon had kept himself entirely away from the
princess ever since the afternoon at the king's ante-chamber. The
first day or so she sighed, but thought little of his absence; then
she wept, and as usual began to grow piqued and irritable.
What was left of her judgment told her it was better for them to
remain apart, but her longing to see Brandon grew stronger as the
prospect of it grew less, and she became angry that it could not be
gratified. Jane was right; an unsatisfied desire with Mary was
torture. Even her sense of the great distance between them had begun
to fade, and when she so wished for him and he did not come, their
positions seemed to be reversed. At the end of the third day she sent
for him to come to her rooms, but he, by a mighty effort, sent back a
brief note saying that he could not and ought not to go. This, of
course, threw Mary into a great passion, for she judged him by
herself--a very common but dangerous method of judgment--and thought
that if he felt at all as she did, he would throw prudence to the
winds and come to her, as she knew she would go to him if she could.
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