Rodrigo's early wedding forces Telmo and Lucía to flee. But Jimena, always on the alert, conveys her suspicions to Rodrigo, and he has no choice but to put Lucía on the spot: as a wedding gift, the king will save the Beguines from the stake. Thus, Lucía becomes the Marchioness of Peñarrosa, to Telmo's immense grief. But Gonzalo is unwilling to let the freed women escape eternal fire and does everything possible to have them condemned in the auto-da-fé.
