Deathbed Madness
- There's a staged fight (for entertainment) at the barrier, before the Brachiano enters, along with Flamineo and others (including Giovanni). He realizes his helmet's been poisoned and cries for the armorer. When the armorer arrives, Brachiano orders him sent to torture.
- Vittoria enters and laments. Flamineo calls for physicians who arrive and state the obvious: Brachiano's been poisoned.
- Giovanni cries and exits on Brachiano's orders. The Duke lashes out at the physicians and tells Vittoria not to kiss him so she won't be poisoned.
- Brachiano says that horrible deaths are reserved for nobles like him—never peaceful, natural deaths.
- Lodovico and Gasparo enter as monks, pretending to bring the sacrament of extreme unction. Brachiano is terrified of death. All exit except for Francisco (as Mulinassar) and Flamineo.
- Flamineo says that the people acting upset about the Duke's death are insincere flatterers. When Mulinassar asks him what he really thought of the Duke, Flamineo says he's the kind of guy who would count expenses in terms of how many cannonballs he'd fired on a town, as opposed to how many of his soldiers lives he'd lost. He says he means this as a compliment!
- Lodovico enters and tells them that the Duke is babbling in insanity.
- They bring Brachiano in on a bed, with Vittoria and others following.
- The Duke babbles about his dinner and sins in an incoherent way, but also seems to suspect the Duke of Florence (Francisco) of being behind the plot.
- He says he sees the devil, who wears a cod-piece stuck with pins and hides his cloven foot with a rose.
- Brachiano mentions weird hallucinations, one featuring Flamineo. When he calls for Flamineo, Flamineo feels nervous—thinking that a man on his deathbed naming him so often might be a bad omen.
- Lodovico and Gasparo (still as monks) stand before him with a crucifix speaking in Latin—they ask the others to leave so they can speak words secret to their order to him.
- When the rest leave, they reveal that they're Lodovico and Gasparo—they've poisoned him as vengeance for Isabella and are sending him to hell, without the last rites.
- Brachiano cries out for Vittoria. Gasparo stops Vittoria and her attendants at the door, telling them Brachiano needs peace, while Lodovico strangles him to death. Brachiano dies.
A Crucial Piece of Intel
- When everyone's allowed to re-enter, Vittoria is upset. Flamineo (apparently aside) says that women's tears are cheap, and her grief doesn't mean anything.
- Mulinassar mentions that this was probably Florence's doing (ironic, considering he really is the Duke of Florence).
- Flamineo laments the Duke's death and says it's better to be a thresher than a noble. He wishes he could meet the dead Duke's ghost and shake his hand.
- Flamineo exits (and Vittoria too, apparently).
- With Lodovico in private, Francisco compliments him on a job well done. Zanche enters.
- Zanche tells "Mulinassar" she had a dream last night, in which he came to her bed. Francisco/Mulinassar tells Lodovico he'll play along.
- He says he had the same dream—he thought he saw her naked and covered her with a blanket.
- As she remembers it, she said he was pretty "bold" with her (which might mean they had sex, unless Francisco really is playing along). Mulinassar says he remembers her laughing and being tickled by the blanket.
- Finally, Zanche reveals the secret she's been keeping: Brachiano had Isabella poisoned, and Flamineo murdered Camillo.
- Zanche regretfully says she kept their secret, but now plans to make up for it by robbing Vittoria and leaving with Mulinassar.
- Zanche says that she'll give him a ton of the money she's stolen as a dowry. Mulinassar agrees and promises to meet her. Zanche exits and then re-enters, saying they should meet at the chapel at midnight. They agree and she exits again.
- Francisco is extremely glad they know this, now, because it gives them perfect justification for the revenge they've been pursuing. He and Lodovico exit.