confessions

Bassanio and Gratiano returned home with Antonio tonight. They told us of the trial in Venice and how a lawyer had come to realize that there was a loop hole in the contract which prevented Antonio's life from being put at stake. They were in such joyous moods that Nerissa and I couldn't resist. We asked our fiancés where their rings were and why they were not wearing them. They confessed that they had given them away as tokens of their gratitude toward the lawyer and his assistant for saving their friend's life. After Nerissa and I did a fantastic job of guilt-tripping our grooms-to-be, we let them off the hook and told them the whole story. We explained how I, Portia, had come up with the idea to save Antonio and that in order to successfully do so, we disguised ourselves as men. How I dressed as Balthazar, the lawyer, and Nerissa dressed as the lawyer’s assistant involved in making a verdict in Antonio’s contract. We explained how we figured this was the only way of presenting ourselves with a sense of authority, not as the preconceived notion of woman not knowing anything about matters of business (which is totally not true), because our discovery was worthy of consideration before the verdict was made. Then we told them how we purposely tested their commitment and loyalty to us by asking for their rings. Although some of you might think this test of devotion to be unfair, Nerissa and I thought it was necessary. We had not known these men for very long (we had only spoken briefly a few times before) and we were already engaged. They apologized for disappointing us and promised to never do such a thing again. They seemed sincere so we returned their rings to them. All is well again and as far as I can tell, Bassanio has learned his lesson and will stay faithful to me until the day I die; as I will to him. :)