Margaret Over-reach has no interest in marrying Lord Lovell, since she is in love with Tom Allworth, as he is with her. Lord Lovell knows of his page's affections, and is willing to act as a go-between for the two. Young Allworth is nervous at this, suspecting that his patron will not be able to resist Margaret's charms; but Lovell is an honourable man, and sincerely promotes their match. Over-reach thinks that Allworth is carrying messages between the Lord and his daughter, though the young page is actually pursuing his own romance. Together, the young couple manages to fool Sir Giles into thinking that Lovell wants a reluctant Margaret to elope with him; Over-reach pressures his daughter to conform, and even sends hurried written instructions to a compliant clergyman at the village of Gotham, to marry his daughter to "this man." Of course he means Lovell, though the ambiguity favours the young lovers.