Angelique Bouchard, her love for Barnabas having been rejected, casts a choking spell on him by tying a handkerchief around a toy soldier's neck. As Barnabas and Josette du Prés embrace in the parlor, he starts to feel the effect of Angelique's spell. Unable to breathe, he collapses into a chair while Josette helplessly watches. The room begins to darken around Barnabas, and he tumbles to the floor. Josette screams.