Summary

After Merton sleeps with Kate, he feels that he has been given a renewed kind of fidelity; he avoids all other human contact. Now, in order to maintain that fidelity, he must leave her alone and rejoin society. He knows that a sense of shame may come later, but for now he is content with this new intimacy. He may now focus on courting Milly in order to carry out the plan that Kate has devised for their future.

As Merton goes to the palace, he sinks at the thought that he must lie to Milly. Kate and Mrs. Lowder are returning to London. Mrs. Lowder is suspicious of Merton’s remaining in Venice.

Merton tells Milly that he is writing a book and needs quiet. London is too noisy, so he will stay in Venice for a while. When she speaks of coming to his rooms for tea, Merton asks if it is safe for her to leave the palace, then winces. He had momentarily forgotten that he had promised her in London that he would not mention her illness. She replies that she is going to live as long as she can. Something breaks within him and he tells her to come any time she likes. He rises to leave. She is afraid he is trying to get away from her, so she will not come to tea. Merton confesses that he is not writing a book. He is staying in Venice because he wants to be with her.

Merton reflects on how deeply he has committed himself. If he pulls out, he might kill Milly. All he has to do at this point is to stay in Venice and have dinner at the palace with her. He does so for twenty days but is all the while nervous that he will make a mistake.

When Merton arrives as usual at the end of twenty days, he is told that neither Milly nor Susie is receiving visitors, although neither is unwell, according to the servant. Merton goes to Eugenio to determine what is wrong. Eugenio tells him that the ladies are simply fatigued. Merton is concerned that Eugenio sees him as a man after Milly’s fortune and wonders why he is worried about a servant’s opinion.

Merton walks the streets of Venice. Passing by a café, he sees Lord Mark. Merton is  convinced that he was turned away at the palace because of Lord Mark. He tries for three days but is never admitted. He receives no word from Milly. On top of that, Kate had said that the two of them could not correspond at the risk of arousing suspicion, so he feels quite alone.

At the end of three days, Susie is shown into his rooms. She is obviously troubled.

Analysis

While Merton’s desire to sleep with Kate is based on physical passion, it also functions on another level, discovered only afterwards. To Merton, the night he spent with Kate in effect “married” the two of them. He now feels a sense of faithfulness to her, bound by sexual union as are a husband and wife; his bond goes their plan to get Milly’s money. It is important to Merton to establish a physical relationship with Kate before he married Milly. The true union, he feels, is with Kate. Once that has been accomplished, he feels free to proceed more willingly with Kate’s plan to court Milly.

Kate, along with her Aunt Maud, has left the scene in order to remove themselves from the possibility of her and Merton’s relationship being discovered. It must appear that...