Isabel II lost her throne. Mariana, Luisa and her
father have joined Vidal to prepare for the wedding. He leads a chorus of
vareadores (harvesters) in a celebrated song, in praise of his lovely
sweetheart (Coro y Romanza:"¡Ay mi morena, morena
clara!".) Aníbal rushes in, announcing that he has found Javier in
Portugal and has brought him back - Vidal had sent the boy there to fetch a
wedding dress for Luisa, but in his excitement Aníbal has foolishly
forgotten to bring it back.

Javier, wounded and broken, has asked Aníbal to persuade
Luisa Fernanda to meet him once more before the marriage. Luisa agrees, and in
a moving duet she admits to Javier that she still loves him, but tells him that
she must stand firm to her promise to Vidal. (Dúo:"¡Cállate, corazón!".) Javier wanders away, as Luisa
insiststo Vidal that she will go through with the wedding. The guests, led by
Aníbal, gather to dance and enjoy themselves (Final: "El
Cerandero se ha muerto";) but when Javier returns in despair to plead with
Luisa once more, Vidal realises that Luisa will never love him. Despite her
guilty objections, he releases her from her promise and generously encourages
her to leave with Javier. Telling the harvesters to get on with their work,
Vidal is left alone to grieve, with only the memory of his lost 'morena'
- dark beauty - to comfort him.