year will go instead to Cheviot's uncle, Symperson. By chance, Cheviot and Symperson have been on the same derailed train as Belinda and Belvawney. With a view to securing the £1,000 annual stipend, Symperson suggests his daughter, Minnie, as a suitable bride for Cheviot. Cheviot agrees, but is almost immediately distracted by the allure of Maggie. He bribes Angus to release her, but as he is congratulating himself on winning her he encounters Belinda, to whom he is instantly attracted. She refuses him, and he vows he will marry Minnie Symperson. As his marriage would remove Belvawney's income this does not suit Belinda at all, and she implores Cheviot to remain single. Major McGillicuddy now appears, having tracked the eloping pair down, intent on shooting Belvawney. Cheviot saves the situation by pushing Belvawney aside and ostentatiously embracing Belinda. Defying the major's pistols, he and Belinda declare that they are now man and wife. Maggie, Belvawney and the major are all distraught. Act 2 Three months later, in the drawing room of Symperson's London home, Minnie is preparing for her wedding to Cheviot. Belinda arrives, wearing mourning dress. She explains to her old friend Minnie that she has inadvertently married a complete stranger. She briefly recounts the events at Gretna, and explains that under Scottish law a public declaration of marriage constitutes a legal union. Consequently, though she does not know the name of the man who protected her from the major by declaring himself her husband, and has not seen him since that day, she is legally married to him. She has worn mourning dress ever since, but learning that it is Minnie's wedding day she goes home to change into more suitable clothes. Cheviot enters, dressed for his wedding. He is briefly distracted by Parker, the maid, before Minnie returns and they discuss their future, strictly frugal, life. Minnie leaves and Belvawney appears, bemoaning his loss of Belinda. He is appalled to find Cheviot on the brink of matrimony, as this will mean the loss of his £1,000 a year stipend. Having been present throughout the events at Gretna, he can attest that Cheviot is already legally married. Cheviot reflects that the cottage has been demolished and the owners have left the country, and so there is nobody to corroborate Belvawney's account. There is, moreover, some doubt whether the events took place on the English or the Scottish side