Michele reminisces with Giorgetta of the days before their child died and how all three would fit under his cloak. He is distressed about the fact that he is twice her age; she comforts him but she will still not kiss him. Michele wonders if his wife is still faithful to him and ponders who might have changed her so much. He reviews for himself the list of all the men that have shared in their lives but dismisses all of them as improbable. Michele then lights his pipe and Luigi, seeing it from afar, thinks that it is Giorgetta's signal. He returns to the barge only to be confronted by Michele. In the ensuing fight Michele gets the upper hand and forces Luigi to confess his affair before killing him and hiding the body under his cloak. Giorgetta returns to the barge, feigning remorse, and Michele opens wide the cloak to reveal her dead lover.