Act III Part II

Trofimov and Madame Ranevskaya are left alone, and she shows him a telegram that she has received from her French lover, saying that he is ill and lonely and needs her help. Madame Ranevskaya believes that she should return to France to help him, but Trofimov is incredulous that she would even consider going back to help the man who effectively robbed her. They argue about love and experience, and as Trofimov leaves in anger, he falls down the stairs and has to be carried back in by the others. He and Madame Ranevskaya are soon laughing about their argument and reconcile.

After a while Gayev and Lopakhin return. Gayev however remains very distant and refuses to discuss the outcome of the auction. Whem Madame Ranevskaya asks Lopakhin who has bought the estate, he reveals that he himself has bought it and plans to cut down all of the trees and destroy the orchard. Outraged, Varya throws the estate keys to the ground as Lopakhin stands proud and smug at his victory. Madame Ranevskaya is comforted by Anya, who tries to convince her mother that the future will be better now that the orchard has been sold.