at that moment aldorandin enters the house, declaring his love for clémentine and asking for her hand. clémentine refuses, stating that she is too young yet for marriage ("ma chere enfant"). aldorandin sends her to her room to reconsider. meanwhile, fabio, aldorandin's conniving servant, arrives to report that le magnifique will exchange his best race horse in exchange for fifteen minutes of private discourse with clémentine. while fabio praises the horses ("ah c'est un superbe cheval!"), aldorandin reflects on his suspicions of le magnifiques's intentions. as if his ears were burning, le magnifique enters the house to close the deal, and the three men leave together to go see the horse ("vous m'étonnez, vous badinez").