The old Sibyl (Belvidere in disguise) advises Silvio to turn himself in to the Duchess's authorities; she assures him that she will preserve him and unite him with Belvidere, and in gratitude he promises to grant whatever "boon" she shall ask of him. Silvio arrives at court, and proves he is the man who secured the victory with the bejeweled cameo portrait of Belvidere that he took from the Duke of Siena. When he reveals his identity, however, the Duchess is ready to have him executed. Silvio reminds the Duchess of their riddle bargain; and she, confident of her position, allows him to venture a solution – which Belvidere has provided him. The play's riddle is a version of one that recurs through traditional literature and folklore; in its simplest form, the riddle's question is "What does a woman want?" The play states its version of the riddle in verse, and adds an ironic and contradictory twist to it:  The answer to the traditional riddle is that "A woman wants to have her will" – in modern terms, to have her own way. The play is faithful to its folklore source:  In producing the correct answer, Silvio has won...but no one knows the whereabouts of Belvidere. The old Sibyl throws another twist into the plot: she demands, as her "boon," that Silvio marry her. The Duchess and the Duke of Siena are delighted at this twist, feeling that Silvio is being taught his lesson; SIlvio, though tortured by his apparent fate, proves to be a man of honor and agrees to the marriage...which turns out perfectly well once Belvidere reveals her true identity. The Duchess consoles the disappointed Duke of Siena by marrying him herself; in the end, both mother and daughter are "women pleased." The play's subplot involves that staple of comedy, a rich old miser married to a beautiful young wife. Lopez, a "sordid userer," is jealous of his wife Isabella, who is pursued by two would-be seducer/adulterers; one is the elderly Bartello, the commander of the city's fortress (who supplies a connection between main plot and subplot); the second and more serious seducer is a handsome young gallant who calls himself "Rugio." Rugio has a servant named Soto who provides much of the play's comic material.