The Montfort château bustles with preparations for Queen Marguerite's visit, with new furnishings, lavish provisions, entertainers, and a court dress being readied for Marguerite's audience. From the tower, Marguerite, Claire, Madame D'Artois, and the girls hear the Queen's grand arrival. Ysabeau and Suzanne are giddy, while Claire and her mother accept they are not invited. Madame D'Artois counsels Marguerite to ask nothing for herself and speak simply. Claire gives Marguerite her gold ring—originally given to her by the Queen—to wear alongside her mother's.

Descending into a gallery crowded with richly dressed courtiers, Marguerite feels invisible until she spots Roberval, thinner but confident, who hails her as 'cousin.' Furious, she flees into Lady Katherine's chamber, where Lady Katherine, Louise, and Anne dress and paint her in gold and crimson brocade with pearls and a ruby pendant. Marguerite realizes she is being presented as an ornament and curiosity, but accepts it as her chance to speak.

In the great hall awaiting the Queen, Roberval seizes her arm and pulls her into the shadows. He calmly insists on speaking; she accuses him of stealing her inheritance and abandoning her, while he counters that she committed crimes and seduced his man. Marguerite defies him, declaring she will tell the Queen everything, certain he can no longer harm her since she has nothing left to lose.

As she turns to leave triumphantly, Roberval halts her with a devastating revelation: the Queen already knows her tale, because Roberval himself has told her everything. Marguerite is left stunned, her planned testimony preempted by her guardian's preemptive narrative.