They all refuse to reveal themselves, particularly as its an open secret that this South Wales Smelting thing is just basically a front for the Warleggans anyhow. One of Ross’ random miner friends stands up to be identified as the company’s official “agent”, and Snooty Smelting Dude wants to know whose backing the group. He raises something of a stink about it, wanting all sorts of proof and receipts about this new company’s existence and claiming that he doesn’t even think they’re real. This, of course, irritates the rather snooty looking representative from the South Wales Smelting Company, which had been backed by the Vile Warleggans. The sales are announced in some seemingly predetermined order (I’m not sure how this counts as an auction when no one is bidding on anything that I can see, but let’s just go with it.) Anyway, this mysterious new Carnmoore Smelting Company keeps buying up all the ore from the surrounding mines, and at considerably higher prices than the product had been previously fetching. Ross rides through the beautiful scenery of Cornwall to town, and arrives as the auction bizarre. He also warns his cousin to have a care about George Warleggan who, as we all know is vile and evil, but also, for some reason, insanely influential.

Ross is ready and excited to take on the establishment and help people earn better wages all around, but Francis poo poos his enthusiasm, insisting that he’s never going to get “justice for all” no matter what he does. The first auction day since the creation of the miner owners secret cooperative smelting company rolls around. The New Smelting Company Shakes Things Up. Francis, certified idiot, manages to lose his family mine, Wheal Grambler in a card game, with a shady friend of George Warleggan’s, but Elizabeth vows she’s not going to let the family’s diminished circumstances get her down. She is ultimately successful, and the two confess that they still have feelings for one another in the middle of a miners’ riot, because what could be more romantic? In other mining related-news, Ross and some of his miner buddies have decided to form their own smelting company, to try and mitigate the influence of the Vile Warleggans and also to get a better price for their copper. She’s also decided to entertain herself by doing her best to reunite Verity and her somewhat problematic ex Andrew Blamey. Previously, on Poldark: Lots of stuff happens! Demelza has a little girl, whom she and Ross decide to name Julia. (Photo: Courtesy of Robert Viglasky/Mammoth Screen for MASTERPIECE.)

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