CHAPTER V

An Honor and an Enemy

A day or two after this, Brandon was commanded to an audience, and presented to the king and queen.  He was now eligible to all palace entertainments, and would probably have many invitations, being a favorite with both their majesties.  As to his standing with Mary, who was really the most important figure, socially, about the court, I could not exactly say.  She was such a mixture of contradictory impulses and rapid transitions, and was so full of whims and caprice, the inevitable outgrowth of her blood, her rank and the adulation amid which she had always lived, that I could not predict for a day ahead her attitude toward any one.  She had never shown so great favor to any man as to Brandon, but just how much of her condescension was a mere whim, growing out of the impulse of the moment, and subject to reaction, I could not tell.  I believed, however, that Brandon stood upon a firmer foundation with this changing, shifting, quicksand of a girl than with either of their majesties.

In fact, I thought he rested upon her heart itself.  But to guess correctly what a girl of that sort will do, or think, or feel would require inspiration.

Of course most of the entertainments given by the king and queen included as guests nearly all the court, but Mary often had little fetes and dancing parties which were smaller, more select and informal.  These parties were really with the consent and encouragement of the king, to avoid the responsibility of not inviting everybody.  The larger affairs were very dull and smaller ones might give offense to those who were left out.  The latter, therefore, were turned over to Mary, who cared very little who was offended or who was not, and invitations to them were highly valued.

One afternoon, a day or two after Brandon’s presentation, a message arrived from Mary, notifying me that she would have a little fete that evening in one of the smaller halls and directing me to be there as Master of the Dance.  Accompanying the message was a note from no less a person than the princess herself, inviting Brandon.

This was an honor indeed—­an autograph invitation from the hand of Mary!  But the masterful rascal did not seem to consider it anything unusual, and when I handed him the note upon his return from the hunt, he simply read it carelessly over once, tore it in pieces and tossed it away.  I believe the Duke of Buckingham would have given ten thousand crowns to receive such a note, and would doubtless have shown it to half the court in triumphant confidence before the middle of the night.  To this great Captain of the guard it was but a scrap of paper.  He was glad to have it nevertheless, and, with all his self-restraint and stoicism, could not conceal his pleasure.

Brandon at once accepted the invitation in a personal note to the princess.  The boldness of this actually took my breath, and it seems at first to have startled Mary a little, also.  As you must know by this time, her “dignity royal” was subject to alarms, and quite her most troublesome attribute—­very apt to receive damage in her relations with Brandon.