Meanwhile, Talbot is in love with her poor cousin, the free-and-easy Mary. Old Middlewick has taken a great dislike to Violet, whom he considers 'stuck-up,' and he desires his son to wed Mary. Needless to say, Sir Geoffrey is also displeased, and the fathers disown their sons.
Mr. Middlewick, a retired butterman, also thinks highly of his son, Charles, an enthusiastic and lively young fellow. They are delighted to welcome their 'boys' home after a three-years' sojourn on the Continent. The Baronet — proud and poor — has determined that his son should marry Violet Melrose, an heiress; but that young lady and Charles Middlewick have already met at Vienna and decided differently (although she was, at first, unhappy with his lowly station).