The Michauds write a letter to Lucile asking whether Gaston has returned home and to communicate that Jean-Marie has. Bruno reveals that he will be staying after all, as his regiment’s departure has been canceled. Telling Lucile that he married his wife too young and on too little acquaintance, he takes off his wedding ring, hands it to Lucile, and begins playing the piano, which moves Lucile to tears. When he asks if his music reminds her of someone she loves, she answers that she loves no one. He tells her that after the war he will come back. They have tea, and Lucile feels a warmth she never has before.

The Perrins, whose house has been ransacked by the Germans, ask Lucile to plead with Bruno to recover a long list of valuables. Although Madame Perrin, whose son was killed in the war and who wears the black veil of mourning, would never dream of approaching a German herself, she is happy to use Lucile as a go-between, knowing that the latter is already compromised because she has been seen speaking to Bruno.