A Woman is a Weathercock is the first play by the former child star of the Jacobean stage, Nathan Field. The action takes place over a single day in London. A number of suitors vie over Sir John Worldly's three daughters: Bellafront, Katherine, and Lucida. These include the short-tempered soldier, Captain Pouts; the poetical buffoon, Sir Abraham Ninny; and the rich merchant, Strange. Quick-witted Nevill orchestrates multiple sham marriages and young Scudmore plans to elope with Bellafront, while the pregnant Mistress Wagtail seeks any husband who will have her.
By : Nathan Field (1587 - 1620)
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The action of the play takes place over the course of one day when a double wedding is being held in "the Neighbourhood of London".
Scudmore is in love with Sir John Worldly's eldest daughter Bellafront but, as he is reading a love letter from her, his friend Nevill arrives to tell him Sir John has arranged for Bellafront to be married to rich Count Frederick that very day. Frederick's friend, Captain Powts, hoped to marry Sir John's second daughter Kate, but she is going to be wed to the rich young merchant Strange – Sir John favours him because of his wealth. Sir John's third daughter Lucida is in love with Count Frederick and vows she will marry no one else. The newly knighted and foolish Sir Abraham Ninny – son of Sir Innocent Ninny and his constantly-inebriated wife Lady Ninny – tries to win Lucida's love through terrible poetry ... and fails.
Nevill disguises himself as a parson – unbeknown to anyone except the audience – to perform the double wedding of Bellafront to Count Frederick and Kate to Strange, thereby nullifying the marriages, and giving his friend Scudmore time still to win Bellafront.
After the "weddings", the angry Captain Powts arrives and tells everyone he has slept with Kate "often". Kate demands that Strange rescues her honour by killing Powts and is furious when Strange refuses – he says it's not blood that's required; it's her "good name" that must be redeemed.
Later in the day Strange, disguised as a soldier, takes a letter to Captain Powts that tells him Strange has been killed at Kate's command and she is waiting for her Captain Powts to return. The Captain is fooled by this and says he regrets lying about her. On hearing confirmation that Kate has been slandered, the disguised Strange challenges Powts to a duel. He helps the injured Powts away after the fight.
Meanwhile, Lady Ninny's "gentlewoman" Mistress Wagtail, who is pregnant, has been seeking a husband. She tries to woo Count Frederick's obsequious assistant Pendant – much to his horror – but he persuades her instead that Sir Abraham will be stupid enough to fall for her and accept the baby as his.
At a wedding masque in the evening Scudmore, disguised as Nevill, dances with Bellafront and they run off together to be married by a real priest. Nevill appears and reveals that the two marriages earlier in the day were shams. The wounded Powts is carried in by Strange and admits he had lied about sleeping with Kate. Kate is relieved she is not married, and Nevill offers her his hand, saying: "Mistress Kate, I kept you for myself". Count Frederick says "I have so ruminated on a wife that I must have one this night" – and proposes marriage to Lucida, who loved him all along. And the gulled Sir Abraham gets his parents' approval to marry the pregnant Mistress Wagtail.
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