Zeresh

And yet that can not be. The shepherd's crook

Is not the golden sceptre of a king.

I have no doubt that she has long since ceased

To think of youthful dreams. She rules the king,

And what more does a woman want?

Mordecai

I did

Not hope to make her understand at once.

My reasons were too subtle for her heart.

And so I kept my counsel, for I knew

No girl would ever sacrifice her love

To save the remnant of a nation's life.

[53]

Zeresh

[Justifying.]

And why might even Esther not forget

When once she felt the spell of royal power—

The tinsel show and glamour of the court?

No woman lives that would not be a queen.

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