Chapter: SCENE 4.

A room in PAGE'S house.

[Enter FENTON, ANNE PAGE, and MISTRESS QUICKLY. MISTRESS QUICKLY
stands apart.]

FENTON.
I see I cannot get thy father's love;
Therefore no more turn me to him, sweet Nan.

ANNE.
Alas! how then?

FENTON.
Why, thou must be thyself.
He doth object, I am too great of birth;
And that my state being gall'd with my expense,
I seek to heal it only by his wealth.
Besides these, other bars he lays before me,
My riots past, my wild societies;
And tells me 'tis a thing impossible
I should love thee but as a property.

ANNE.
May be he tells you true.

FENTON.
No, heaven so speed me in my time to come!
Albeit I will confess thy father's wealth
Was the first motive that I wooed thee, Anne:
Yet, wooing thee, I found thee of more value
Than stamps in gold, or sums in sealed bags;
And 'tis the very riches of thyself
That now I aim at.

ANNE.
Gentle Master Fenton,
Yet seek my father's love; still seek it, sir.
If opportunity and humblest suit
Cannot attain it, why then,--hark you hither.

[They converse apart.]

[Enter SHALLOW, SLENDER, and MISTRESS QUICKLY.]

SHALLOW.
Break their talk, Mistress Quickly: my kinsman shall speak for himself.

SLENDER.
I'll make a shaft or a bolt on 't. 'Slid, 'tis but venturing.

SHALLOW.
Be not dismayed.

SLENDER.
No, she shall not dismay me. I care not for that, but that I am afeard.

QUICKLY.
Hark ye; Master Slender would speak a word with you.

ANNE.
I come to him. [Aside.] This is my father's choice.
O, what a world of vile ill-favour'd faults
Looks handsome in three hundred pounds a year!

QUICKLY.
And how does good Master Fenton? Pray you, a
word with you.

SHALLOW.
She's coming; to her, coz. O boy, thou hadst a father!

SLENDER.
I had a father, Mistress Anne; my uncle can tell you good jests
of him. Pray you, uncle, tell Mistress Anne the jest how my father
stole two geese out of a pen, good uncle.

SHALLOW.
Mistress Anne, my cousin loves you.

SLENDER.
Ay, that I do; as well as I love any woman in Gloucestershire.

SHALLOW.
He will maintain you like a gentlewoman.

SLENDER.
Ay, that I will come cut and long-tail, under the degree of a squire.

SHALLOW.
He will make you a hundred and fifty pounds jointure.

ANNE.
Good Master Shallow, let him woo for himself.

SHALLOW.
Marry, I thank you for it; I thank you for that good comfort. She
calls you, coz; I'll leave you.

ANNE.
Now, Master Slender.

SLENDER.
Now, good Mistress Anne.--

ANNE.
What is your will?

SLENDER.
My will! 'od's heartlings, that's a pretty jest indeed! I ne'er
made my will yet, I thank heaven; I am not such a sickly creature,
I give heaven praise.

ANNE.
I mean, Master Slender, what would you with me?

SLENDER.
Truly, for mine own part I would little or nothing with you. Your
father and my uncle hath made motions; if it be my luck, so; if not,
happy man be his dole! They can tell you how things go better than
I can. You may ask your father; here he comes.

[Enter PAGE and MISTRESS PAGE.]

PAGE.
Now, Master Slender: love him, daughter Anne.
Why, how now! what does Master Fenton here?
You wrong me, sir, thus still to haunt my house:
I told you, sir, my daughter is dispos'd of.

FENTON.
Nay, Master Page, be not impatient.

MRS. PAGE.
Good Master Fenton, come not to my child.

PAGE.
She is no match for you.

FENTON.
Sir, will you hear me?

PAGE.
No, good Master Fenton.
Come, Master Shallow; come, son Slender, in.
Knowing my mind, you wrong me, Master Fenton.

[Exeunt PAGE, SHALLOW, and SLENDER.]

QUICKLY.
Speak to Mistress Page.

FENTON.
Good Mistress Page, for that I love your daughter
In such a righteous fashion as I do,
Perforce, against all checks, rebukes, and manners,
I must advance the colours of my love
And not retire: let me have your good will.

ANNE.
Good mother, do not marry me to yond fool.

MRS. PAGE.
I mean it not; I seek you a better husband.

QUICKLY.
That's my master, Master doctor.

ANNE.
Alas! I had rather be set quick i' the earth.
And bowl'd to death with turnips.

MRS. PAGE.
Come, trouble not yourself. Good Master Fenton,
I will not be your friend, nor enemy;
My daughter will I question how she loves you,
And as I find her, so am I affected.
Till then, farewell, sir: she must needs go in;
Her father will be angry.

FENTON.
Farewell, gentle mistress. Farewell, Nan.

[Exeunt MRS. PAGE and ANNE.}

QUICKLY.
This is my doing now: 'Nay,' said I, 'will you cast away your child
on a fool, and a physician? Look on Master Fenton.' This is my doing.

FENTON.
I thank thee; and I pray thee, once to-night
Give my sweet Nan this ring. There's for thy pains.

QUICKLY.
Now Heaven send thee good fortune!

[Exit FENTON.]

A kind heart he hath; a woman would run through fire and water for
such a kind heart. But yet I would my master had Mistress Anne; or
I would Master Slender had her; or, in sooth, I would Master Fenton
had her; I will do what I can for them all three, for so I have
promised, and I'll be as good as my word; but speciously for Master
Fenton. Well, I must of another errand to Sir John Falstaff from my
two mistresses: what a beast am I to slack it!

[Exit.]

 Outside Master Page's house, Anne and dreamy Fenton get cozy and talk about their future together. Fenton is bummed out that Anne's dad hates him and won't let him marry his daughter. Fenton tells Anne that her dad doesn't like him because he thinks he's a spoiled brat who wasted all his money and wants to marry Anne because she's rich. Plus, Master Page isn't crazy about Fenton's misspent youth. Hmm, Master Page might have a point. Fenton confesses that, yeah, at first, he only wanted Anne for her dough but now that he's gotten to know her, he's fallen in love. Fenton swears up and down that he loves Anne for herself and thinks she's worth much more than a giant bag of "gold." Anne encourages Fenton to take another crack at her dad. Who knows? Maybe Master Page will change his mind. Just then, Slender, Shallow, and Mistress Quickly show up: Slender wants to talk to Anne. We find out that Master Page wants Anne to marry Slender because Slender's loaded. Mistress Quickly distracts Fenton as Slender tries to flirt with Anne. Slender has zero game with the ladies, so Shallow tries to help him out. He says Anne will be living large if she marries Slender. Plus, if he dies, she gets a big widow's pension. Anne is not impressed. She warns Shallow that he should let Slender "woo for himself." Fed up, Anne confronts Slender and asks him what he wants from her. Slender says "I would little or nothing with you" , and points out that Anne's dad and his uncle are the ones who want him to marry her. See? We told you Slender's got no game. Master and Mistress Page show up and get mad when they see Fenton. Master Page tells Fenton to scram and says he'll never let Anne marry him. When Master Page leaves, Mistress Quickly tells Fenton to talk to Anne's mom. He does, telling her how much he loves her daughter, and Anne pipes in with "Please don't marry me off to a fool." . Mistress Page says she won't. She has her eye on Doctor Caius. Anne says she'd rather be buried alive than marry that guy. Mistress Page orders Fenton to go home and takes Anne inside the house, promising to ask who she does want to marry. Mistress Quickly gives us a little aside that she likes Fenton the best, but she's still going to help out all of Anne's suitors. Because why? Oh, why not. She's probably getting money and trinkets from them all. Then Mistress Quickly runs off to relay a message to Falstaff from Mistress Ford and Mistress Page.

