<P> Clara is instructed in the Latin catechism in preparation for converting to Catholicism while around her everyone in the extended family sings of their feelings, stirred up by the immediate presence of such intense, young love ("Octet Part 1"). Franca, in an attempt to arouse her husband's jealousy, kisses Fabrizio right on the mouth, and Clara witnesses it, breaking into a furious rant that ends with her throwing a drink on Franca . As Clara breaks down, Franca commends her for her bravery and declares her own desire to fight for Giuseppe . She toasts the upcoming union and is joined by the rest of the family ("Octet Part 2"). </P> <P> At the wedding rehearsal, Clara and Fabrizio are filling out the necessary forms when Signor Naccarelli sees something on Clara's form that causes him to call off the wedding and take his family away at once . Clara wants to know what is wrong with her, but her mother says there is nothing at all wrong . With Clara sobbing and broken, alone in one of the pews of the church, Margaret reveals her worst fears and her shame at having been the source of her daughter's lifelong suffering . She resolves to do whatever it takes to give Clara a chance for happiness ("The Beauty Is (Reprise)"). </P> <P> Margaret tries to reason with Signor Naccarelli, who saw Clara's childlike handwriting as she completed her marriage form . Seemingly unconcerned with her immaturity or her handwriting, Signor Naccarelli admits that he saw Clara write her age on the forms--26--and that this makes her an unsuitable bride for his son who is only 20 . Relieved that he has not discovered their secret, Margaret begs him to change his mind, but he will not . She invites him to take a walk with her, and the two wander from one end of Florence to the other as the sun slowly sets and the night comes on ("Let's Walk"). By giving him time to mull things over and by not pressuring him, Margaret succeeds in putting the wedding back on track; Signor Naccarelli says he will meet them at the church the following morning . </P> <P> From the hotel room, Margaret calls Roy to tell him about the wedding . As might be predicted, he insists that Clara cannot handle the responsibilities of marriage . Clara, in her wedding dress, stands in the shadows, overhearing her mother's side of the conversation . Margaret says, "Just because she isn't normal, Roy, doesn't mean she's consigned to a life of loneliness . She mustn't be made to accept less from life just because she isn't like you or me ." Shattered, Clara slips out of the hotel room and runs once more through Florence ("Interlude"), meeting Fabrizio at the church in order to tell him that she cannot marry him; she won't allow herself to cause him any pain . Fabrizio assuages all of her fears ("Love to Me"). </P>

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