Containing a Dialogue Between Sophia and Mrs. Honour, Which May a Little Relieve Those Tender Affections Which the Foregoing Scene May Have Raised in the Mind of a Good-Natured Reader
- After Mrs. Western leaves, Mrs. Honour (Sophia's maid) comes in.
- When she sees Sophia crying, she asks her what is the matter.
- Sophia gets irritated at being asked, but she obviously wants to vent her tragic feelings.
- She finally comes out with it: "My father […] is going to marry me to a man I both despise and hate" (6.6.1).
- Mrs. Honour says all kinds of things about how she would never marry a man against her will.
- She thinks that Sophia should marry a handsomer gentleman (of course, meaning Tom), since Sophia has money enough for the both of them.
- Mrs. Honour also feels sorry for Tom, since she has seen him standing by the canal in the garden looking miserable all morning.
- Sophia grabs a ribbon and rushes off to see Tom (though she makes a thin excuse about "going to the grove" (6.6.1) in the opposite direction.)
- Sadly, Tom leaves the garden just as Sophia goes into it.
- So the lovers just miss each other.