At a royal audience, James Vale, introduced earlier as crippled, demands the Princess sign a divorce to free his brother Gavin, accusing Gavin of living like a servant and suffering for her. The Princess alternates regret and refusal, resisting the Vale family's call to sever all ties. General Vale warns Gavin not to covet what isn’t his, while courtiers whisper that James’s own proposal was rejected. The argument builds toward a forced signing, but urgent news from the border interrupts the court, leaving the divorce unsettled and Gavin’s fate hanging.