She tells him that to see him tortured would give her pleasure.
His daughter, Lucy Lockit, has the opportunity to scold Macheath for having agreed to marry her and then broken this promise. The prison is run by Peachum's associate, the corrupt jailer Lockit. Macheath discovers, too late, that two of them (Jenny Diver and Suky Tawdry) have contracted with Peachum to capture him, and he becomes a prisoner in Newgate prison. Macheath goes to a tavern where he is surrounded by women of dubious virtue who, despite their class, compete in displaying perfect drawing-room manners, although the subject of their conversation is their success in picking pockets and shoplifting.
Upset to learn they will no longer be able to use Polly in their business, Peachum and his wife ask how Polly will support such a husband "in Gaming, Drinking and Whoring." Nevertheless, they conclude that the match may be more profitable to the Peachums if the husband can be killed for his money. The Peachums discover that Polly, their daughter, has secretly married Macheath, the famous highwayman, who is Peachum's principal client.
Mrs Peachum, overhearing her husband's blacklisting of unproductive thieves, protests regarding one of them: Bob Booty (the nickname of Robert Walpole). Peachum, a fence and thief-catcher, justifies his actions. A number of the cast members have not been identified by their first names and so have been listed by the name that appears in the original programme.
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