Abigail Younglove is a waiting gentlewoman to the Lady. She is sent by the Lady to Elder Loveless, and presents him with a jewel. She welcomes another suitor, Welford, to the house, and attempts to woo him for herself, annoying her own long-time suitor Sir Roger. With Martha, she carries a posset to Welford's chamber. Abigail carries a letter from the Lady to Elder Loveless, and rebukes him for his treatment of her mistress. Welford consistently rejects Abigail, and eventually she is reconciled with Sir Roger and they are married.
CAPTAIN
The Captain, the Traveller, the Poet and the Tobacco-Man are hangers-on to Young Loveless. They urge him to spend his money on drink and women, and are retained by him even after his marriage to the Widow. The Poet and the Captain are extremely loquacious, but the Traveller says little and the Tobacco-Man nothing at all.
ELDER LOVELESS
The Elder Loveless is the brother of Young Loveless and is a suitor to the Lady, who loves him but cannot resist tormenting him. He has annoyed her by kissing her in public, and has been ordered to spend a year travelling in France to appease her. In his absence, Elder Loveless decides to leave his brother as master of his house. He returns, in disguise, and announces his own death in order to test his brother. Young Loveless rejoices in his inheritance, and arranges to sell his new land to the usurer Morecraft in order to get enough money to buy a knighthood. Meanwhile, Elder Loveless tries to convince the Lady of his death, but is recognised and humiliated as the Lady pretends to have transferred her affections to Welford. He returns home in his own person in time to prevent the handover of his land to Morecraft, and approves the marriage between Young Loveless and the Widow. He is displeased with Savill, his steward, who failed to restrain Young Loveless's wild behaviour, and removes him from his post. Later, Elder Loveless goes to the Lady again, and tries to convince her that he has tired of her. The Lady pretends to swoon, and Elder Loveless reveals his true feelings; she again humiliates him, and he rails against her before returning home again. Unable to forget her, he is visited by Welford, who desires revenge. They go to the Lady, with Welford disguised as a masked woman, and claim that 'she' is Elder Loveless's newly betrothed sweetheart. The Lady is stung into action, and agrees to marry Elder Loveless. The next morning, Elder Loveless discloses that his 'betrothed' was Welford; the Lady is irate at having been tricked, but vows to be patient. Elder Loveless approves the marriage between Welford and the Lady's sister, Martha, and, at Young Loveless's request, returns Savill to his post as steward.
LADY
The Lady is the sister of Martha. The Elder Loveless is in love with her, and she returns his love but cannot resist tormenting him. He has annoyed her by kissing her in public, and has been ordered to spend a year travelling in France to appease her. She is similarly dismissive towards another suitor, Welford, provoking the sympathy of Martha and Abigail Younglove, her waiting gentlewoman. Returning in disguise, Elder Loveless tries to convince her of his death, but is recognised and humiliated as the Lady pretends to have transferred her affections to Welford, only to reject him when Elder Loveless has departed. Later, Elder Loveless goes to the Lady again, and tries to convince her that he has tired of her. The Lady pretends to swoon, and Elder Loveless reveals his true feelings; she again humiliates him, and he rails against her before returning home again. Welford and Elder Loveless join forces to seek revenge. They go to the Lady, with Welford disguised as a masked woman, and claim that 'she' is Elder Loveless's new sweetheart. The Lady is stung into action, and agrees to marry Elder Loveless. The next morning, Elder Loveless discloses that his 'betrothed' was Welford; the Lady is irate at having been tricked, but vows to be patient.
LOVELESS
Family name of Elder Loveless and his brother Young Loveless.
MARTHA
Martha is the sister of the Lady. She sympathises with Welford after his harsh treatment at the Lady's hands, and she and Abigail Younglove carry him a posset. When Elder Loveless appears to have rejected his masked betrothed (really Welford in disguise) in order to marry the Lady, Martha takes pity on 'her' and invites the masked woman to share her bed for the night. Welford takes the opportunity to seduce Martha, and the next morning refuses to return to his women's clothes in order to preserve her honour. Instead, he persuades Martha to marry him.
MORECRAFT
Morecraft is a usurer, who has lent money to Young Loveless and now has possession of his land. He is the suitor to a rich Widow, who will not entertain his suit unless he is knighted. When Young Loveless appears to have inherited the lands of Elder Loveless, Morecraft agrees to buy them for the sum of £6000, but is thwarted when Elder Loveless returns just as he is about to take possession. Young Loveless keeps the money, and sees his swindle as a fitting riposte to Morecraft's earlier behaviour towards him. The Widow rejects Morecraft, choosing to marry Young Loveless. Seeing that Young Loveless has been more successful than he has, Morecraft decides to turn gallant and become 'Cutting Morecraft'. He gives an expensive ring to the Lady and gives money to the Servingmen. Through this behaviour, he hopes to eventually gain money, just as Young Loveless has.
POET
The Poet, the Captain, the Traveller, and the Tobacco Man are hangers-on to Young Loveless. They urge him to spend his money on drink and women, and are retained by him even after his marriage to the Widow. The Poet and the Captain are extremely loquacious, but the Traveller says little and the Tobacco-Man nothing at all.
SAVILL
Savill is the steward of the Elder Loveless. When Elder Loveless departs to go travelling, Savill is left to attend to Young Loveless and is ordered to restrain his behaviour. Savill tries to fulfil this order, criticising Young Loveless's comrades, the Captain, the Poet, the Traveller and the Tobacco Man. However, when Elder Loveless comes in disguise and announces his own death, Savill sees no alternative but to go along with Young Loveless, and allows himself to be made drunk. Savill is appalled by Young Loveless's decision to sell the estates, fearing for his own farm with the usurer Morecraft as a landlord, and is relieved when Elder Loveless returns. Elder Loveless, however, is annoyed that Savill failed to restrain Young Loveless, and punishes him by taking away his post as steward. Eventually, Young Loveless promises to help Savill to regain his post (though without admitting any blame for its loss), and this is effected at the end of the play.
SERVANT, ELDER LOVELESS'S
Elder Loveless's Servant announces the arrivals of Welford and Abigail Younglove to the house of Elder Loveless.
SERVANT, WELFORD'S
Welford's Servant appears, drunk, to attend Welford at the house of the Lady.
SERVINGMEN
The Servingmen attend Young Loveless, the Widow, and Morecraft. One of them provides Morecraft with ale, and is rewarded with an angel and advised not to buy land. Morecraft later gives the servingmen more money.
SIR ROGER
Sir Roger is a curate in the service of the Lady. He is sent by the Lady to test Welford and to find out whether he is a former suitor using an assumed name. Sir Roger has long been the suitor of Abigail Younglove, and is affronted when she makes advances to Welford.
TOBACCO–MAN
The Tobacco-Man, the Captain,, the Traveller and the Poet are hangers-on to Young Loveless. They urge him to spend his money on drink and women, and are retained by him even after his marriage to the Widow. The Poet and the Captain are extremely loquacious, but the Traveller says little and the Tobacco-Man nothing at all.
TRAVELLER
The Traveller, the Captain,, the Poet and the Tobacco Man are hangers-on to Young Loveless. They urge him to spend his money on drink and women, and are retained by him even after his marriage to the Widow. The Poet and the Captain are extremely loquacious, but the Traveller says little and the Tobacco-Man nothing at all.
WELFORD
Welford is a suitor to the Lady. Coming to the house, he is welcomed by Abigail Younglove. Telling him that the Lady will deny him, Abigail attempts to woo him herself. Martha takes pity on Welford when he is treated harshly by the Lady, and she and Abigail carry him a posset. The Lady pretends to love him as part of her battle of wits with Elder Loveless, only to reject him later. Annoyed by their treatment at the Lady's hands, Welford and Elder Loveless join forces to seek revenge. They go to the Lady, with Welford disguised as a masked woman, and claim that 'she' is Elder Loveless's newly betrothed sweetheart. When Elder Loveless appears to have rejected his masked lover in order to marry the Lady, Martha takes pity on 'her' and invites the masked woman to share her bed for the night. Welford takes the opportunity to seduce Martha, and, the next morning, refuses to preserve her honour by returning to his women's clothes. Instead, he persuades Martha to marry him.
WIDOW
The Widow has been left wealthy after the death of her husband. She is wooed by the usurer Morecraft, but refuses to entertain his suit unless he is knighted. She finally rejects Morecraft in favour of Young Loveless, to whom she is married. After they are married the Widow tries to persuade Young Loveless to give up his parasitical comrades, the Captain, the Poet, the Tobacco Man and the Traveller, but she is eventually convinced to entertain them.
YOUNG LOVELESS
Young Loveless is the brother of the Elder Loveless. He is a prodigal, who is in debt to the usurer Morecraft and has forfeited his land to him. His brother leaves Young Loveless as master of his house while he is travelling in France, but asks the steward Savill to restrain his wild behaviour. Young Loveless brings his comrades, the Captain, the Poet, the Tobacco Man and the Traveller into the house and tries to persuade Savill to turn gallant. Elder Loveless returns in disguise, and announces his own death in order to test his brother. Young Loveless rejoices in his inheritance, and plans to raise enough money to buy a knighthood. Savill is forced to drink and dance in front of Elder Loveless. Morecraft agrees to buy the land for the sum of £6000, but is thwarted when Elder Loveless returns just as he is about to take possession. Young Loveless keeps the money, seeing it as repayment for the money that Morecraft cheated from him. The Widow rejects Morecraft and instead marries Young Loveless. Elder Loveless reproves his brother for his wild behaviour, but does not punish him any further; he does, however, remove Savill from his post. After they are married the Widow tries to persuade Young Loveless to give up his parasitical comrades, but she is eventually convinced to entertain them. Young Loveless is amazed by Morecraft's decision to turn gallant, and helps Savill to regain his post, though without admitting any blame for its loss.