Receiving Oregan’s Duel Challenge
The narrator receives a formal duel challenge from Rourk Oregan, delivered in person, which claims Melinda Goosetrap is already promised to Oregan and demands the narrator meet him at the back of Montague House with pistols to settle the matter, threatening to make the narrator admit he is unworthy of Melinda even after death.
Duel Standoff at Montague House
The narrator loads his pistols and travels to the appointed duel location at Montague House, where he finds the shabbily dressed, rough-featured Oregan waiting; Oregan immediately fires a pistol at the narrator without warning before the narrator can return fire.
Amicably Resolving the Duel
After the narrator fires a warning shot at Oregan and Oregan’s second pistol misfires, the pair negotiate a truce: the narrator agrees to put in a good word for Oregan with Melinda, and Oregan agrees to stop pursuing her and causing further trouble.
Examining Oregan’s Faulty Pistols
The narrator inspects Oregan’s pistols after the duel is settled, finding one was loaded without being primed and the other primed without a charge, confirming the weapons were too faulty to fire properly and explaining why neither caused injury during the standoff.
Hearing Oregan’s Life Story
Walking with Oregan after the duel, the narrator learns his rival’s life story: Oregan served as a volunteer in the German army fighting the Turks, earned an ensign’s commission for his conduct at the siege of Belgrade, and was later promoted to lieutenant before being forced to flee to England after killing a captain in a duel; his friend Mr. Gahagan advised him to pursue Melinda for her £10,000 fortune.
Arrested by Strap Post-Duel
While the narrator and Oregan walk after their truce, they are surrounded by a file of musketeers led by Strap; Oregan flees the scene and is marked for arrest, while Strap explains he suspected the challenge letter posed a danger and fetched the guard to intervene on the narrator’s behalf.
Immediate Release and Meeting Oregan’s Friends
The narrator is immediately released after explaining the duel is already fully resolved; moments later, Oregan returns with two disheveled companions, introduced as Counsellor Fitzclabber (a historian compiling a history of the kings of Minster) and Mr. Gahagan (a self-proclaimed philosopher and political schemer), who had come to rescue Oregan from arrest.
Supplying Oregan with New Clothes
The narrator invites Oregan and his friends to his lodgings, where he outfits Oregan in decent clothing from his own wardrobe; Grateful, Oregan swears eternal loyalty to the narrator and agrees to recount his full life story at the narrator’s request.
Visiting Melinda and Recounting the Duel
The narrator visits Melinda in the afternoon, and she greets him warmly, laughing excessively at his account of the duel with Oregan; she shares the dozen love letters Oregan had written to her for the narrator’s amusement.
Proposing Marriage to Melinda
Taking advantage of a moment when Melinda’s mother leaves the room, the narrator declares his love to Melinda and proposes marriage, but she gives no direct answer to his proposal before other company arrives to join them.
Requesting Melinda’s Mother’s Consent
Melinda tells the narrator she has no personal objection to him, but will only consider marriage if her mother consents; the narrator formally visits Melinda’s mother to make a solemn request for her daughter’s hand in marriage.
Failing to Meet the Mother’s Financial Demands
Melinda’s mother questions the narrator about his financial standing and proposed settlement for her daughter; the narrator admits he has no landed estate and cannot produce a full rent-roll, only offering to maintain Melinda as a gentlewoman and settle her existing dowry on her and her heirs, a proposal the mother rejects out of hand.
Being Rejected by Melinda and Her Mother
The narrator returns to Melinda’s home the next day to elaborate on his financial circumstances, only to be turned away by the footman despite spotting Melinda inside the house through a window; the narrator takes the deliberate snub as a full rejection of his courtship from both Melinda and her mother.
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