Merton Densher Timeline and Summary

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• Merton shows up as a lowly newspaper journalist at the start of the book. He's in love with Kate Croy but can't marry her because her Aunt Maud doesn't approve of how poor he is.
• He hatches a plan to carry on a secret relationship with Kate, although he vows to never tell a direct lie to protect their secret.
• After meeting with Kate for a while, Merton finds out that he's been called away to New York to do some reporting. He asks Kate if she's committed to him, and she responds that as far as she's concerned, the two of them are engaged.
• Merton goes to New York. While he's there, he meets Milly Theale and visits her several times alone. It's not clear exactly what happens in their meetings. Merton, though, does write home to Kate about meeting this young lady.
• When Merton gets back, he and Kate go to the National Gallery for some alone time. They run into Milly there, though, and go back to her hotel for lunch.
• A while later, Aunt Maud throws a dinner party and invites Merton. It turns out that Milly will be there, too.
• When the party starts, the family receives word that Milly won't be able to make the party because she's feeling ill. Kate assures Merton, though, that it's because Milly has a crush on him and is too nervous to see him.
• Merton goes to visit Milly in her hotel and learns that she plans on going to Venice. When he tells this to Kate, Kate informs him that she and Aunt Maud will be going to Venice, too, and that they expect Merton to come along.
• In Venice, Merton pays some visits to Milly, who seems to be deteriorating. At this point, Kate comes out and tells him to act nicely to Milly because Milly is no doubt in love with him.
• As time passes, it becomes clear that Kate wants Merton to marry Milly so that he can get her money when she dies. She and Aunt Maud plan to leave Italy so that Merton can be alone with Milly to make his proposal.
• As he sits in his rented Venice rooms, though, Merton just gets angrier and angrier about the way that Kate has manipulated him. He finally decides that it's high time for Kate to do something for him for a change.
• The next time he sees Kate, Merton says the only way he'll go ahead with their plans is if Kate comes to his rented rooms and has sex with him. Eventually, she agrees.
• Now that he has slept with Kate in his rooms, though, Merton can't handle the idea of having Milly over to those same rooms. She keeps fishing for an invitation, but he won't give it. She starts to think that he doesn't like her after all, and backs off.
• A while later, Merton visits Milly's rented palace to discover that Milly isn't accepting guests—especially guests named Merton.
• When he leaves, Merton sees a guy named Lord Mark hanging out in a nearby café. Lord Mark isn't even supposed to be in Venice, since Milly has already rejected a marriage proposal from him.
• Weeks later, Milly's friend Susan shows up on Merton's doorstep and tells him that Milly has taken a turn for the worse, and it's all because of Lord Mark's visit. It turns out that Lord Mark told Milly that Merton was engaged to Kate, and it has broken Milly's heart.
• Merton goes to meet Milly one last time but can't bring himself to lie to her and deny his relationship with Kate.
• Merton travels home to London and finds out later that Milly has died. On top of that, she has left him her fortune, even though she knew about his and Kate's plan to deceive her. Merton can't believe it.
• Kate is pumped about having Milly's money, but in the closing pages of the book, Merton gives her an ultimatum. She either takes Milly's money (which Merton agrees to give her), or she can marry Merton. It's either Merton or the money.
• Kate never gives him a straight answer, and the book ends without telling us how things will turn out between them.