Grand Inquisitor to forget about the past discussion. The latter replies "Peut-être" / "Forse!" – perhaps! – and leaves. The King bitterly muses on his helplessness to oppose the Church. Elisabeth enters, alarmed at the apparent theft of her jewel casket. However, the King produces it and points to the portrait of Don Carlos which it contains, accusing her of adultery. She protests her innocence but, when the King threatens her, she faints. In response to his calls for help, into the chamber come Eboli and Posa. Their laments of suspicion cause the King to realize that he has been wrong to suspect his wife (Quartet: "Maudit soit le soupçon infâme" / "Ah, sia maledetto, il rio sospetto"). Aside, Posa resolves to save Carlos, though it may mean his own death. Eboli feels remorse for betraying Elisabeth; the latter, recovering, expresses her despair. [The quartet was revised by Verdi in 1883 and begins: "Maudit soit, maudit le soupçon infâme" / "Ah! sii maledetto, sospetto fatale".] Elisabeth and Eboli are left together. Eboli confesses that it was she who told the King that Elisabeth and Carlos were having an affair, for revenge against Carlos for having rejected her. This is followed by the duet "J'ai tout compris". Eboli also confesses that she herself is guilty of that which she accused the Queen, and has become the King's mistress. Elisabeth leaves, and the Count di Lerma orders Eboli to choose between exile or the convent, then leaves. [At the premiere, the duet "J'ai tout compris" and Eboli's second confession, of her affair with the king, were omitted. Elisabeth orders Eboli to choose between exile or the convent immediately after Eboli's first confession. In 1883, the duet was omitted, but Eboli's second confession was reinstated in a revised version, and Elisabeth remains on stage to sing the Count di Lerma's lines.] Eboli, left alone, curses her own beauty and pride, and resolves to make amends by trying to save Carlos from the Inquisition (Aria: "O don fatal" / "O don fatale"). Scene 2: A prison Don Carlos has been imprisoned. Posa arrives and tells Carlos that he (Posa) has saved Carlos from being executed, by allowing himself (Posa) to be incriminated by the politically sensitive documents which he had obtained from Carlos earlier (Aria, part 1: "C'est mon jour suprême" / "Per me giunto è il dì supremo"). A shadowy figure appears—one of