A woman named Cordelia believes Luke is gone, haunted by visions of him. Suddenly, Luke himself stands before her. He reveals they are now married by law, making her his Duchess. He secured this union through a 'shameless bargain' and cruelly reminds her she was once merely a pitied stray dog to him. Now, he holds her in his grasp and coldly implies he intends to claim what he believes a wife owes her husband, leaving her in stunned apprehension.