[Enter Vashti and Esther from opposite sides of the stage.]
Esther
Ah, here already, Vashti, at my poor
Request, who dared defy a despot king's
Command to come before him and his lords?
Your beauty, radiant and spotless, grows
Each hour of exiled life more potent still
Than when it hurled an oriental crown,
With all its flashing jewels, in the face
Of brutal Xerxes rather than unveil
Unto a drunken court of lustful eyes.
Uncrowned, deposed, you are, yet thrice a queen!
Vashti
The sting, the sting of your envenomed words!
Esther
Forgive me, dear, I do not mock your fate;
No word of mine is spoke in scorn. I would
Exchange the royal robe and crown I wear
For just one hour of virtuous freedom that
Belongs to you.
Vashti
I can not understand!
Esther