Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1903-07-24
CHAPTER XXI.

; CHAPTER XXI.
I LETTERS FROM A QUEEN.
3 III pom our return to England
,IO left Jane down In Sunoll
I S5ss with her uncle, Lord Boiling
, sXn& broke, having determined
r never to permit her to come within
, sight Of King Henry again II coult
, prevent it. ! then went up to Londol
. with the twofold purpose Of seein,
, Brandon and resigning my place al
master Of the dance.
When presented myself to the kinl
and told him Of my marriage. he flew
into a great passion because we had
not asked his consent. One Of his
whims was that every one must ask
his permission to do anything-to eat
or sleep or say ones prayers, especially
to marry, II the lady was Of degree
entitled to be kings ward. Jane
fortunately, had no estate, the kings
father having stolen 1t from her when
she was an infant; SO all the king could
do about our marriage was to grumble,
which let him do to his hearts con-
tent.
~ wish also to thank your majesty
for the thousand kindnesses you have
shown me-" I said, land, although 1t
grieves me to the heart to separate
from you, circumstances compel me to
tender my resignation as your master
of dance" Upon this he was kind
enough to express regret and ask me
to reconsider, but l stood my ground
firmly, and then and there ended my
official relations with Henry Tudor for
ever.
Upon taking my leave of the king
fortably ensconced in our old quarters,
he preferring them to much more pre-
tentious apartments offered him In an
other part Of the palace. The king had
given him some new furnishings for
them, and, as l was to remain few
days to attend to some matters Of bust.
ness, he invited me to share his COM
fort with him, and gladly did SO.
Those few days with Brandon were
my farewell to individuality. There
after l was to be so mysteriously In
termingled with Jane that was only
q part and small part at that, fear
of two. l did not, Of course, regret
the change, since it was the one thing
in life most longed for, yet the period
was tinged with a faint sentiment of
pathos at parting from the old life that
had been SO kind to me and which
was leaving forever. | say l did not
regret 1t, and, though l was leaving
my old haunts and companions and
friends so dear to me, ! was finding
them all again In Jane, who was friend
as well as wife.
Mary's letter was in one of my boxes
which had been delayed, and Jane was
to forward 1t to me when it should
come. When | told Brandon of 1t,
dwelt with emphasis upon its bulk,
and he, OF course. was delighted and
impatient to have 1t. | had put the
letter in the box. but there was some.
thing else which Mary had sent to him
that had carried with me. 1t was a
sum OF money sufficient to pay the debt
against his fathers estate and, In ad-
ditton, to buy some large tracts Of land
adjoining. Brandon did not hesitate
to accept the money and seemed glad
that 1t had come from Mary, she, doubt
less, being the only person from whom
he would have taken 1t.
One of Brandon's sisters had mar
ried rich merchant at Ipswich, and
another was soon to marry q Scotch
gentleman. The brother would prob.
ably never marry, so Brandon would
eventually have to take charge Of the
estates. In fact, he afterward lived
there many years, and, as Jane and |
had purchased little estate near by.
which had been generously added to
by James uncle we saw a great deal
Of him. But am getting ahead Of my
story again.
The DAngouleme complication trou-
,led me greatly, Notwithstanding my
aith in Mary. and although l had re-
olved to say nothing to Brandon about
t. l soon told him plainly what /
bought and feared.
He replied with a low, contented lit
lie laugh.
DO not fear for Mary. I do not !
hat young fellow is Of different stuff.
know, from the old king. bot have
II faith in her purity and ability to
axe care of herself Before she left
he promised to be true to me. what
yer befell, and l trust her entirely. I
am not so unhappy by any means as
ne would expect. Am 1? And l was '
ompelled to admit that he certainly t
,as not.
So it seems they had met, as Jane
nd'I suspected, but how Mary manag- 4
1t am sure cannot tell She beat \
he very deuce for having her own
-ay. by hook or by crook. Then came .
he bulky letter. which Brandon pounc- !
] upon and eagerly devoured. leave a
ut most Of the sentimental passages. Il
'hich, like effervescent wine. lose fla n
Or quickly. She said, in part: 3,
D Master Brandon: b
Sir and Dear Friend, Greeting-After s
aving thee. long time had that mighty "
1ef and dole within my heart that 1t Il
as like to break. for my separation from a.
zee was SO much harder to bear even u
an had taken thought. of. and also
'ubted me that could live in Paris, as =,
did wish. Sleep rested not upon my y
sary eyes, and Of q very deed could / q
ither eat nor drink, since food distasted d,
. Ike nausea and wine did strangle =
my throat This lasted through my
arney hither. which did prolong upon
my pretexts nearly two months, but n
Zen did at last rest mine eyes for the W