Joy, Monkeys, and Marriage Plans — Evelina, Or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World

Sleepless with joy, Evelina joins a Bath expedition in three phaetons and is overtaken by Captain Mirvan's chaise bearing Maria, the friend she needs on the eve of marriage. Mirvan's naval slang and disappointed hunt for Madame Duval set the tone for a day that mingles reunion, rank, and renewed mischief.

At the pump-room Evelina judges Bath's Crescent and Circus against her expectations, recoils from the public bathing, and watches Lovel's half-hour toilette become fodder for Mirvan's wagers and Selwyn's satire. Lord Orville alone speaks gravely of gaming's corruption while Merton boasts he cannot live without cards.

After dinner Mirvan's dressed monkey enters as Lovel's supposed twin; panic, laughter, and a bite on Lovel's ear reduce the company to disorder until Orville flings the creature out and shields Evelina. Coverley urges a duel Lovel will not fight; Selwyn mocks the affront as a trifle, and Lovel flees in wounded vanity while the Captain triumphs indecently.

Letters arrive from Howard Grove and Madame Duval, the latter lamenting Du Bois's flight and promising Evelina her fortune when she is Lady Orville; yet Evelina's heart stops when Villars's consent is mislaid until evening. Orville opens the letter she cannot read through tears, kisses it, and whispers that she is all his own.

Evelina signs herself Evelina Belmont for what she believes the last time, names Thursday's double wedding with Macartney and Polly Green, and counts Lady Louisa among the witnesses. Great joy proves as restless as sorrow: friendship returns, cruelty flashes one last time, and parental blessing turns anticipation into near speechless fulfillment before she returns to Berry Hill as Orville's wife.