The Dinsmead family are again sitting down for supper of tinned of brawn and tea. Cleveland enters as Maggie pours the tea. Cleveland swiftly he takes a test tube from his pocket and pours some tea from a cup into it. Mr Dinsmead demands to know what Cleveland is doing. Cleveland is certain this is a case of poisoning meant to look accidental with just one person not recovering, and Johnnie would be blamed for carelessness. Cleveland puts tea from a second cup in a second test tube, labelling each: red for Charlotte's cup and blue from Magdalen’s cup. Cleveland prophesies that Charlotte’s will contain 4-5 times more poison than Magdalen’s.