Gonzague's men track Lagardère to his mountain hideaway looking to kill Nevers' rightful heir. Lagardère and Aurore escape with the help of a band of strolling players who convince the pursuing killers that Lagardère and Aurore have plunged to their deaths in a mountain torrent. After Gonzague's men leave, Lagardère and Aurore join up with the strolling players. Back in Nevers, after attending the funeral of her daughter — the coffin actually contains a wax doll — Blanche retires to a convent, and the evil Gonzague is named executor of her estate.