Ch. Not ruined?
Bel. Not ruined. I—I invented the statement.
Ch. (in great delight). You invented the statement? My dear friend! My very dear friend! I’m very much obliged to you! Oh, thank you, thank you a thousand times! Oh, Belvawney, you have made me very, very happy! (Sobbing on his shoulder, then suddenly springing up.) But what the devil did you mean by circulating such a report about me? How dare you do it, sir? Answer me that, sir.
Bel. I did it to gain Belinda’s love. I knew that the unselfish creature loved you for your wealth alone.
Ch. It was a liberty, sir; it was a liberty. To put it mildly, it was a liberty.
Bel. It was. You’re quite right—that’s the word for it—it was a liberty. But I’ll go and undeceive her at once.
[Exit Belvawney.
Ch. Well, as I’ve recovered my fortune, and with it my tree, I’m about the happiest fellow in the world. My money, my mistress, and my mistress’s money, all my own. I believe I could go mad with joy!
Enter Symperson, in deep black; he walks pensively, with a white handkerchief to his mouth.