From his cell in the dungeon, Ferdinand hears the duke and his entourage arrive for the wedding. However, when the marquis and marchioness go to retrieve Julia from her room, she is gone and only a note for Emilia is left behind. Despite her shock at reading the letter, the marquis assumes that Emilia had a part in helping her sister escape, and she is locked up as well. The marchioness, who has harbored a resentment for the obvious virtue of Madame de Menon, accuses her of complicity in Julia's escape. Rather than answer the charges, Madame resigns her post and threatens to leave, at which point the marquis begs her to stay.

The duke's pride is deeply wounded by Julia's determination not to marry him, but this only strengthens his resolve to have her for his own. The marquis sends servants to search the countryside for Julia, but weeks go by without result.

More strange lights and sounds are observed within the castle, and terror grows among the servants until most of them resolve to quit, citing the haunting of an unquiet spirit. Disgusted with the idea of their desertion and their obvious fear, the marquis commands the servants to assemble one evening for a tour of the castle's abandoned rooms.