reward he deserves. (Enters the prison cell)
Andre (alert): What are you planning, Saint-Clemont?
Raphael: Your future destiny, within my hands it lies,
Endured I have for far too long, love''s fire in me cries.
Come, Edith, let me possess you, or let me be possessed—according to your heart''s desire.
Edith (stares at Raphael): You can''t even dream of it! I would rather die alongside Andre for liberty!
Raphael (pins her down on the ground): Oh, goddess, why should I desire your life? I don''t even hope to possess your heart—only a moment of solace, only your flesh!
Andre (furious): Let go of her! Saint-Clemont! You shameless villain! Shameless!
Raphael (pushes Andre onto the straw forcefully): You are no longer the authoritative big shot in the Committee of General Security, Citizen Quenet!
Edith (struggling intensely): Away, Raphael! Release your grip, demon vile!
Raphael: It seems I must bind your frame with might,
Reluctantly, I act, for your fair skin I smite.
Coarse ropes shall brand your tender arms so fair,
My heart, torn with pain, yet desire they flare.
Edith: I shall not yield, even if you bind me tight!
I pledge myself solely to virtue''s pure light.
I cannot tolerate filthy tools of evil men,
My honour is too dear to let such vice begin!
Raphael: But your petals, under my touch, revealed,
Honest dew cascades, desires unconcealed!
Your blossoming bud, eagerly it waits,
For my lance''s thrust, its longing abates!
Edith: Ah! You, lascivious rogue and devilish beast!
Such treacherous betrayal, an unholy feast!
Beneath saintly facade, one an apostle stands,
The other, a criminal, with vile hands!
Raphael: Call to me, caged beauty, in every plea!
Your passion, awakened, unleashed by me.
Thus, your insults, meant to scorn and deride,
In my ears, they transform, love''s sweetest guide!
Andre: My beloved, I stand, helpless in despair,
To witness your torment, this savage affair!
Each piercing of his sword, sinister and cruel,
Shreds my heart, aching, a shattered jewel!
Edith: Forgive me, my dearest, in this woeful plight,
How wretched, the darkness that engulfs our light!
Raphael (acting incessantly, pointing at Andre): But your Andre seems quite excited, dear Edith. L