Home > Work > Artie's Courage (The Musician's Promise, #1)
1 " I have loved you from the second I set eyes on you, Esperanza. And yes, I know I never had a hope, but I can’t help it. How am I ever going to bear watching you marry him, knowing that I’ll never be allowed to see you again? Lying awake every night, wondering what misery he’s putting you through, knowing there’s nothing I can do but love you from a distance? "
― Rachel Le Mesurier , Artie's Courage (The Musician's Promise, #1)
2 " Oh, believe me, you will want to. It’s amazing what people want to do, when they realize that the alternative is something they want even less.” He stood too now, towering over her. His tone was not threatening but jovial, as though he were offering her a cup of tea. “I promise you this, Señorita; by the time this year is out, if I ask you to sit with me, you will sit. If I ask you to dance, you will dance. And when I ask you to marry me, you will say yes. "
3 " Good. You should be frightened.” He turned to her, his eyes wild and dangerous. “This is the man you’re marrying, Esperanza. This is what he does to people. The least you can do is go into it with your eyes open. You and your family, all you see are the flashy clothes and baile cenas, the huge estates and the sparkly jewellery. Did you ever stop to think about where he gets it all from? It’s paid for in blood, Señorita. The blood of innocent men. "
4 " You surely don’t see the world so simplistically, Señorita. You must know that people are not split into good and evil, black and white. We are all shades of grey, every one of us. What you see as darkness, another would see as light. But if it’s kindness you want, I can do that. Treat me well, and I will do the same for you. "