Esther! I've just left the King and he smiles again, often and readily. Indeed, each...

Mordecai: Esther! [finds Esther in the garden] Mordecai: I've just left the King and he smiles again, often and readily. Indeed, each passing day seems another proof that you were God-sent to that troubled man. But I worry about your safety, Esther. The King is not a patient man. He is attracted not only by your beauty but by your integrity and sense of justice. The qualities that still bind you to Simon. Yet I fear that same conscience of yours may, in time, destroy his patience and, perhaps, turn him against you. Esther: I'm in no danger, Uncle Mordecai. So far he's shown nothing but kindness to me. Mordecai: You do not know him as I do. His violence can be great. Esther: You see him as a man among men. You do not see him as I do - through a woman's eyes. Mordecai: Oh! Surely such a quick defense can only spring from affection. Esther: I can't deny that I am attracted to him by some power that I don't understand. I've tried to believe that it's simply power of admiration. But then, do you think that it was only admiration that I felt for Simon all these years?