VALENTINE    I thank your grace. The gift hath made me happy.

I now beseech you, for your daughter’s sake,

To grant one boon that I shall ask of you.

DUKE  I grant it for thine own, whate’er it be.

VALENTINE    These banished men that I have kept withal

Are men endowed with worthy qualities.

Forgive them what they have committed here,

And let them be recalled from their exile.

They are reformed, civil, full of good,

And fit for great employment, worthy lord.           (5.4.146-155)

I thank your grace. The gift hath made me happy: made up, obviously, says Valentine, presumably hand in hand with Silvia, gazing at her adoringly, she’s the best present I could possibly ask for—how Silvia’s responding to all this remains unknown because she’s SILENT. But Valentine’s after one more thing: I now beseech you, for your daughter’s sake—not my own, obviously, wouldn’t dare presume—to grant one boon that I shall ask of you. A teeny tiny favour? Please? The Duke can be hearty and magnanimous: no worries, son—I grant it for thine own, whate’er it be. Say the word and I’ll make it happen.

These banished men that I have kept withal—these outlaws I’ve been living with, yes, this motley crew here—are men endowed with worthy qualities. No, really. (Even the outlaws themselves might look incredulous at this; comic potential if one of the harder cases tries to dispute this characterisation and is hushed by his cannier colleagues.) Forgive them what they have committed here—not just trying to kidnap you, but all the other bad stuff they’ve been getting up to (Thurio might look outraged here, try to intervene?) and let them be recalled from their exile. Let them leave the forest and come home? Cancel their banishments? They are reformed, civil, full of good—steady on, Valentine, they’re all looking sceptical at this (but also he has to believe in the possibility of reform, for Proteus’s sake?)—and fit for great employment, worthy lord. They’re great guys, absolutely top blokes, all of them—you could trust them with even quite important jobs! (If not, every duke needs a small private posse of brigands and experienced highway robbers. Just in case.)

(Am now imagining the candy-striped cake-baking convicts in Paddington 2.)