"No, Mary. I do not think of my pride. I think of yours and my brothers happiness. And in the end, I believe that you will both be happier if I am not here because Francis will never be happy if I am here, and as he is the man that you love, you in turn will never be happy either."
Bash' eyes widened a little. "You left Mary alone?" he asked. "How could you do that?!" he demanded. "You are overreacting to something that Mary doesn't even remember happening? Do you honestly think she would leave the castle willingly with me, when she is in love with you?" he asked. "You have her heart and you are throwing it away over something that we both have told you never happened."