SNECKY. And that’s Rintoul himself!
DOW. There’s a woman wi’ them.
GAVIN. A woman?
DOW. — )
WHAMOND.) Ay, it is — it’s a woman. Wha can she be?
SILVA.)
ANDREW. She’s a younger kimmer.
DAVIDSON. I see her face, Mr. Dishart; it’s your good lady.
(gavin has no answer.)
DOW. Behears! This beats all! It’s the Egyptian!
SNECKY. Oh! keep’s a’ tod! Dod! Ay, faags, is that her? But she’s unca grand dressed for an Egyptian!
ANDREW. Here they come!
WHAMOND. She’s dressed up to the nines — but it’s her!
OMNES. Ay, ay, they’ve catched her.
WHAMOND. Ay, they’ve got her.
(Enter lord rintoul with babbie, followed by captain halliwell, swaggering, babbie is very demure and trembling.)
HALLIWELL. You are here, Davidson — that is well!
(GLOATING) Good evening, Mr. Dishart — you scarcely thought you would see us so soon again — eh?
GAVIN. You have lost no time, sir; but I know what you have come for, and I am ready.
HALLIWELL. He knows what we have come for, Rintoul!
LORD RINTOUL (grimly). I think not, Mr. Dishart!
GAVIN. You are here to arrest me.
WHAMOND. Arrest him?
HALLIWELL. Not at all.
(gavin is surprised.)
BABBIE (faltering). It is something much worse than that!
WHAMOND. Worse, eh! (Defending gavin) Let’s see you lay hand on our minister!
DOW. It’ll be a bloody hand. Micah, bring my pike with the thick handle.
(MICAH runs off. LORD RINTOUL stops him with a gesture.)
LORD RINTOUL. Stop! You men — my dispute with you is ended, let that be understood — but allow me to put a question to you. If a man and woman resident in Scotland — declare themselves married before witnesses, does that constitute a marriage?
WHAMOND. What are you after? You ken it does — everybody kens that!
SNECKY. We had a case o’ the kind here — ay, and the man tried to get out o’t. He said it was just done for fun. But he couldna — she had him! They were tied for life.
LORD RINTOUL (to gavin). You hear, Mr. Dishart.
WHAMOND (suddenly guessing). You dinna mean that he —
SNECKY. Him I andrew. Mr. Dishart!
HALLIWELL (who, with LORD RINTOUL, has been enjoying GAVIN’S surprise and horror of Elders). Davidson, come forward!
GAVIN (excitedly). Stop! Lord Rintoul! (To halliwell) I see what you are here for now — but I warn you — desist! You don’t know what you are doing.
HALLIWELL. You will permit us to be the best judges of that. Davidson, what are your grounds for thinking that Mr. Dishart is a married man?
GAVIN. Stop! (To BABBIE) do you not see what the object of all this is?
BABBIE (faltering). People must take the consequences of their rash acts!
HALLIWELL. Does that satisfy you, sir? Answer me, Davidson.
(gavin continues to stare at babbie, who sometimes peeps at him half-frightened.)
DAVIDSON. On the night we came after the rioters, I met Mr. Dishart in the wood. The woman was wi’ him. They passed themselves off to me as man and wife. I’m sorry, Mr. Dishart, but I have two witnesses. (Signing to Soldiers.)
HALLIWELL. You corroborate the sergeant’s evidence?
SOLDIERS. Yes, Captain.
LORD RINTOUL (to whamond). Is that sufficient, sir?
WHAMOND. It was the Egyptian?
HALLIWELL. Yes, he admitted it to me this evening.
LORD RINTOUL (stepping forward and producing a document). This is a paper in which his confession, as made to both of us, is set forth and signed by myself and Captain Halliwell. We wrote it out in the dogcart; shall I read it to you all?
WHAMOND (sorrowfully, after looking at GAVIN). It’s no necessary.
DOW. All IS OVER.
LORD RINTOUL. It is far from my intention, Mr. Dishart, to crow over you — though you have tried me sore.
HALLIWELL. We feel deeply for you. (Chuckling.)
LORD RINTOUL. But I am a magistrate, and there is no getting past this document — it is your marriage lines.
HALLIWELL. Your marriage lines, sir.
BABBIE. Your — marriage — lines — sir!
(GAVIN goes towards her. She retreats from him in fear and sits on seat.)
GAVIN. Sergeant —
DAVIDSON. I must stick to my words, Mr. Dishart — you called that woman there your wife.
(LORD RINTOUL and CAPTAIN HALLIWELL, who have been complacent, start.)
HALLIWELL. What’s that?
DAVIDSON. I am only saying, Captain, that is the woman.
(Seeing something is wrong.) Is that not what you wanted me to say?
LORD RINTOUL. You are a fool, man. It was the gipsy that he married.
DAVIDSON. Begging your lordship’s pardon, but that is the gipsy.
WHAMOND. Do you think we dinna ken her because she’s grand dressed?
LORD RINTOUL. That — that is my daughter!
(This causes a stir.)
SNECKY.? (Licks his lips.)
WHAMOND. His daughter?
(Pause.)
DAVIDSON. Heaven help me, what have I done?
HALLIWELL. I tell you — that is Lady Barbara Yuill.
LORD RINTOUL (wildly). Mr. Dishart — Babbie, tell them who you are.
BABBIE (quaking). But I — I — I am not quite sure, father!
WHAMOND (grandly). I think I can tell you who she is — that’s Lady Barbara Dishart!
LORD RINTOUL (choking and going to BABBIE). Was — was it you?
(BABBIE rises, retreats quaking, then nods.)
How?
(Elders all gather, with their heads together.)
BABBIE. By the secret staircase! You remember I told you — you ought to have that panel nailed up! I wanted to save the weavers. You always said I took my sense of humour from you, father! And then he — (Looking at gavin) — he thought I was a gipsy. It was so stupid of him, just because I was wearing a gipsy dress — and he made love to me —
WHAMOND. The Minister! (Looks at gavin.)
BABBIE. Yes, you did! I was very angry —
GAVIN. Oh!
BABBIE. I was — so! went out to meet him again, just to show him that — just to show him — and he thought! was a gipsy all the time, and — (Desperate) — and — so stupid of him — and so — father —
(HALLIWELL