"Let me say this," said Raul, pipe in both hands, eyes on the smoke that trailed from its bowl. "Maybe I'm as corrupt as you say. But I happen to love Lucienne, if that makes any difference. I've been promiscuous.... We've all played with hacienda girls. But you have played with lives. You've let people starve for a whim. You've had them kicked and whipped and killed. You've stopped our school. You let Esperito fake entries in the account books. That's corruption."
"You should be able to name things," growled Fernando, his hands under the sheet, the sheet under his chin. "I'm sure you learned everything when you were in Europe, all the pros and cons."
"The record here at Petaca speaks for itself. I know how many men you've had killed."
"Many men have killed and not been held to account. Every general kills."
"That kind of reasoning makes nothing right."
"Do you know how dangerous these times are?" asked Fernando. "Do you?"
"I can only guess. Perhaps it will take only a spark."
"A spark to touch off a conflagration," said Don Fernando, one eyebrow going up.
"You mean a revolution?" asked Raul.
"That."