The third episode unfolds with Pampinea masterminding a grand celebration, a mock ceremony celebrating her union with Leonardo, whom we all know has long departed, yet the villa's inhabitants are blissfully unaware, convinced that Pampinea exchanged vows with him the previous day. As the festivities' preparations gather momentum, Filomena and Licisca find themselves in Licisca's chamber, where Filomena is stunned to discover that Licisca spent the previous night in the arms of Dioneo. They conspire to maintain their secret personas in private, while publicly adhering to their swapped roles, a cunning strategy aimed at luring Tindaro into proposing to Licisca, thereby securing their permanent residence in the villa's hallowed halls.
In Tindaro's chambers, he awakens, his heart aflutter for Licisca, blissfully ignorant of the fact that his trusted confidant and physician, Dioneo, had shared her bed the very night before. Dioneo, now smitten with Licisca, endeavors to dissuade Tindaro from pursuing her, but his own feelings cloud his judgment.
Elsewhere, Panfilo responds to a knock at the villa's door, where he encounters a messenger boy. Their interaction is laced with flirtation, revealing Panfilo's fondness for the young man. However, his mood swiftly darkens as he receives dire news in one of the letters: his family's financial ruin has left him and his wife, Neifile, homeless. He hastens to inform Neifile of their dire straits, and they unite in the realization that their quest to secure their future within the villa's walls has become more urgent than ever.
Yet, Neifile's mind is occupied by another, more pressing concern—the agony of her platonic marriage. Amidst the wedding revelry, she finds herself unable to resist flirting with Dioneo. The guests eagerly press Pampinea for tales of her wedding, but as the ceremony was but a fiction, she struggles to recount the finer nuances of a day that never truly was, her memory faltering under the weight of her lie.
As the villa resonates with the excitement of games and challenges among its guests, Pampinea meticulously ensures her dominance, winning each contest with relentless zeal. However, her serenity shatters when Licisca emerges victorious over her, leaving her visibly displeased. Meanwhile, Neifile regales the gathering with a tale of a maiden who stumbled into a well, only to be miraculously rescued by a handsome savior. Soon, the subtlety fades, and it becomes apparent that her narrative is but a reflection of her own desires, leaving her blushing with embarrassment.
That fateful night, the revelry seems to have woven its enchantment over every soul present. As Sirisco and Pampinea engage in a conversation about Leonardo and his character, their words intertwine into a passionate embrace, culminating in a shared night of intimacy. Parallel to this, Licisca once again finds herself in Dioneo's chambers, while Panfilo surrenders to a forbidden tryst with the young messenger, their secret love play unfolding amidst the stables' hushed whispers.
The dawn of the next day reveals a disheartened Neifile, determined to recapture her lover's attention. She summons Dioneo to the stables, boldly undressing before him, her plea for his affection cloaked in the guise of medical necessity. Yet, he politely declines, steadfast in his quest to seek out Licisca. In his pursuit, Dioneo's heart is laid bare as he attempts to confess his deepest feelings to her. But fate intervenes in the form of Tindaro, who arrives with a poetic ode that captivates Licisca's heart, and it seems as if she might be swayed by his charms.
Dioneo's jealousy boils over, and when Tindaro boasts of his intention to spend the night with Licisca, he acts impulsively, lacing Tindaro's wine with poison, plunging him into a fit of illness that mimics the plague. In this twisted game of love and deceit, passions run high, and the stakes could not be any higher.
Meanwhile, Pampinea's conscience weighs heavily upon her, as she grapples with guilt for her hasty union with Sirisco mere moments after the fictitious wedding ceremony. Her emotions boil over, and she lashes out at him, igniting a heated argument between them. Later, Sirisco finds himself confiding in Panfilo, who is relentlessly seeking gossip to bolster his claim to the villa. Inadvertently, wounded by Pampinea's rejection, Sirisco reveals the shocking news that Leonardo is deceased, thereby dashing Pampinea's any hope of laying claim to the property.
As Tindaro lies ailing in his bedchamber, Dioneo, under the misconception that Licisca is the wealthy Filomena, steals into her room and bares his heart, beseeching her to flee with him. On the brink of revealing her deception, they are swept away in a passionate embrace.
Meanwhile, Stratilia, the housemaid, overhears Tindaro's frail condition and rushes to his aid. Swiftly, she realizes that his illness stems not from the plague but from the nefarious hand of his physician friend, who has poisoned him. Enraged, Tindaro storms to confront Dioneo, only to stumble upon him and Licisca entwined in their bedchamber.
Later, as the villa resounds with the hum of dinner's aftermath, Licisca and Dioneo indulge in a lively game of cards with Panfilo and Sirisco. Just as the mood reaches its crescendo, Pampinea descends the stairs, her announcement a bombshell: she claims to be carrying Leonardo's child. A revelation that rings hollow to those privy to the truth—for she has never met Leonardo, and he is long dead.
Yet, the drama hardly lingers as Tindaro staggers in, his face bloated, vomit staining his clothes, to accuse Dioneo of his poisoning. With a swift decree, he banishes Dioneo to the servants' quarters and, in a dramatic turn, drops to one knee, proposing to Licisca. She accepts, albeit reluctantly, aware that this is not the heart's desire she harbors within the villa's walls.
