of several performers in pantomimes and skits. In a scene with a young neighbor woman, Marianne Sinclaire, he kisses her, although the audience thinks it is part of the act. Marianne's father, however, is outraged and leaves the party, with Marianne walking in the snow to their house, where her father refuses to let her in. Back at the party, Margarethe's own past is exposed by one of the Cavaliers, and her husband the Major throws her out of the house. Disgusted with life, the Major gives control of Ekeby to the Cavaliers, bitterly predicting that they will ruin the estate. Berling searches for Margaretha but finds Marianne collapsed in the snow by her family's front door. Berling takes her back to Ekeby but tries to keep her presence confidential since she has fallen ill. In the meantime, Margarethe has returned to the cottage where her mother still lives, seeking forgiveness. As the old woman collapses and lies dying, there is a partial reconciliation but Margarethe realizes that she must atone for her past by driving the Cavaliers out of Ekeby. At Borg, Hendrik learns that his Italian marriage to Elizabeth will not be considered legal until they both sign certain documents. At Ekeby, Berling considers marriage to Marianne, but she turns him away when she reveals that her face has been scarred by smallpox. Margarethe, driven by her own guilt and rage, assembles a party to set fire to the wing of Ekeby housing the Cavaliers in order to capture and exile them, but the fire gets out of control and begins to burn the central mansion housing Marianne, whom Berling manages to save from the flames just as her father arrives, now relieved that his daughter is safe. At Borg, seeing the fire, Elizabeth heads across the lake to Ekeby on foot, where she is discovered by Berling who was driving a sleigh across the ice. At first, in a fit of passion, Berling proposes eloping and taking Elizabeth away from Varmland and beyond. But he turns the sleigh back when he realizes that they are being pursued on the frozen lake by a pack of wolves, which they eventually outrun. Back at Borg, Hendrik offers Elizabeth the new wedding documents to sign and legalize their marriage, but she has to confess that she has not given her heart to him, leading to the ultimate dashing of Hendrik's