Chapter Five and Chapter Six Summary

Chapter five opens with the Marques and Father Hacha, the Inquisitor, discussing La Marquesa's letter. The Marques admits to himself that he married her out of lust and refuses to believe the rumors about her unfaithfulness. Father Hacha shares the Treaty plans with the Marques and strokes his ego by saying that Sharpe surrendered in the duel. However, the next morning the Marques's private chaplain discovers him dead in his chamber with a slit throat. Richard Sharpe is arrested for the murder and led to a prison cell.

In chapter six, Sharpe is placed in a holding room to await trial, and Lieutenant Michael Trumper-Jones is sent as his defending officer, though he is not an lawyer. He reveals to Sharpe that La Marquesa's letter has come to light, where she claims Sharpe threatened her...