The Wings of the Dove

Densher continues to visit Milly every day for 20 days. He feels their relationship continues to strengthen. One day, he goes to the palazzo, and he is informed that he cannot see Milly. He is surprised. As a storm begins to rage, he speaks with Eugenio, the local fixer. Eugenio suspects that Densher is courting Milly to get hold of Milly’s fortune. This is ironic because Eugenio likewise has been spending Milly’s money prodigiously. Eugenio tells Densher that the ladies are “a ‘leetle’ fatigued,” which is why Densher sees them (428).

Disheartened, Densher goes for a walk and takes shelter in the arcade [covered shopping area] of the town square. Walking past a café, Florian’s, he sees Lord Mark. He is stunned. He realizes the reason he was not welcomed at the Palazzo Leporelli is because Lord Mark was visiting. Lord Mark sees Densher through the café window, but the two men do not greet each other.

Densher does not go back to the palazzo because he feels spurned by Milly and Susan. He waits for them to invite him back. One rainy night, three days later, Susan knocks on Densher’s door in some distress.

Susan tells Densher that Milly has “turned her face to the wall” (436), meaning that she has given up the will to live. She reports that Milly has hardly spoken in three days. Densher tells Susan, honestly, that he has been “wretched” waiting for news or a sign from Milly. She reassures Densher that he has “been extraordinary” for lifting Milly’s spirits. Susan asks if he wants to see Milly, and he states that he does not want to see her in her present state. Susan tells him that an Italian doctor has been to the house, but that he cannot help Milly. Densher tells Susan he won’t “abandon” Milly, but he doesn’t know what he can do to help her. Susan reports that Sir Luke Strett will arrive in two days, on Thursday. Densher says he “liked” Sir Luke, and Susan reports the feeling is mutual. He says he doesn’t know how Sir Luke can help Densher’s situation, however, as they never spoke of Milly together. Susan points out that Milly was always in the background of his conversations with Sir Luke.

Susan tells Densher that he might be able to help Milly if he denies what Sir Mark told Milly. Densher is shocked to learn that Sir Mark told Milly that Kate is still in love with Densher and that they were engaged. This had broken Milly’s heart and led to her current decline. Susan says Lord Mark did it out of a sense of humiliation following a meeting with Kate in London. They gather from this that Kate turned down Lord Mark’s proposal just as Milly had. Susan says she will believe that Densher is not courting Milly for her fortune if he tells Milly he is not engaged to Kate. She feels it could “save [Milly’s] life” (452).

On Thursday, the weather clears, and Sir Luke arrives in Venice. Densher eagerly meets him at the train station. After an initial brief moment of awkwardness when Sir Luke does not recognize Densher, Densher escorts Sir Luke to the gondola that will take him to the Palazzo Leporelli. Densher does not accompany Sir Luke to the palazzo, explaining that he does not “go there now” (456). Densher then walks away, not being able to afford a gondola of his own. He returns to his rented rooms to await news from the palazzo.

Three days later, Sir Luke arrives at Densher’s rooms. They do not talk about Milly, but they spend a few days taking in the sights of Venice. On Saturday morning, Densher waits at the train station to see Sir Luke off. Eugenio accompanies Sir Luke to the station. Densher and Eugenio help Sir Luke store all of his things in his train compartment. Just before the train leaves, Sir Luke tells Densher that he should go see Milly. He reassures Densher that Milly is “better” and that he will be back eventually to see her again.

A few weeks later, Densher meets with Kate at Lancaster Gate in London. Maud has invited Densher to tea, and Densher has arrived about 20 minutes early so he can have some time alone with Kate. It is December. Densher has been in London for over two weeks, but he did not tell Kate he had returned from Venice. Kate asks why he waited so long to tell her, and he explains that it was due to his delicate situation in her scheme; he could not be seen to be too eager to see Kate if they were to keep up the ruse that they were not in love.

Densher has not had any news from Susan. Kate tells him that Milly is still alive, but she is “dying.” Maud has learned that Sir Luke has left London to travel to Venice to be with her. Densher tells Kate that what Lord Mark told Milly—that he and Kate were engaged—“simply killed her” (472). Kate insists that she never Lord Mark about their engagement. She asks why Densher never denied the charge to Milly, and he tells her he never had the opportunity to do so and that even had he done so, he didn’t think it would have made a difference. He admits that his conscious would have only allowed him to deny that Kate and he were married if they really had broken off their engagement; he did not want to lie to Milly. Kate accuses him of being in love with Milly. He tells Kate that at their last meeting before he left, Milly never asked him about the engagement. He says she did not seem bitter or angry, only beautiful and strong, when he left her. He tells her that he thinks Sir Luke intervened in some way to convince Milly to see him again before he left Venice. Kate resolves that Milly “has had all she wanted” (481) and that they succeeded in their scheme.

As they talk, Maud arrives in the drawing room. Kate leaves. Maud and Densher talk privately. He tells her that he could not bear to stay with Milly until she died because he lacked courage. Maud is understanding. They talk about Milly as if she has already died. They lament her early death despite her vast wealth. Densher silently reflects that Milly was “heroic.” He feels as if “something had happened to him too beautiful and too sacred to describe” (488). He cannot explain this to Maud without giving away Kate’s scheme.

A few weeks later, on December 21, Densher sends Kate a telegram to meet him in Hyde Park. He anxiously waits for her until she arrives, albeit a bit late. He is struck by her portentous, serene appearance. He tells her that he does not want to wait any longer; he wants to make their engagement public and get married soon. Kate is taken aback by his stridency and chastises him for it. He says he can no longer “bear” the situation. She tells him she does not want them to “behave[] like fools” and asks if he has had any news of Milly’s death (492). He says he has not. In response, she tells him they must continue to wait.

On Christmas morning, Densher has decided he has had enough of waiting. He decides to go to Sir Luke’s house to see if he has any news. As he approaches Sir Luke’s house, he sees a carriage outside. He realizes it is Maud’s carriage, not Sir Luke’s. He expects to see Kate inside the carriage. Instead, he is surprised to see Lord Mark. Densher approaches Sir Luke’s front door just as Maud is leaving. She assumes he is there because, like herself, he has received the message that Milly has died. He is shocked by the news, but he does not want to reveal that he had not heard about Milly’s death from Susan.

Maud asks Densher to join her for Christmas dinner because Kate has gone to stay with her sister. Densher is surprised at this news. Maud explains that Kate’s dissolute father has reappeared at Marian’s doorstep, and Kate is there to help the situation. Densher says he will come to see Maud “if [he] can” (501). Maud suggests Densher go to church for spiritual support, and he does so.

Later that day, Densher goes to see Kate at his sister’s house. He is struck by the circumstances in which he finds her. The house is crowded with the remnants of “happier times,” such as a chandelier, that do not fit into the cramped quarters. Kate is already aware that Milly has died. She is surprised that Densher himself did not receive the news from Susan. Kate tells him that the manager of Milly’s estate is going to meet Susan in Venice is arrange her affairs. She asks him why he went to Sir Luke’s house if he didn’t receive a message of Milly’s death.

Before Densher answers, he implies that he has been unhappy, and he is unsure what to do. He then tells her that he received a letter from Milly, and he is unsure what to do with it. He explains he has brought the letter to Kate so she can read it. Before he shows her the letter, he asks why Lord Mark was with Maud at Sir Luke’s house and how Lord Mark had known about their engagement.

Kate again denies telling Lord Mark about their engagement. She then explains that Lord Mark has been staying with Maud because he has rented out his apartment to earn some money. She explains that his staying was part of why she decided to stay with her sister against Maud’s wishes. Kate then returns to the question of how Lord Mark knew about their engagement. She admits that Lord Mark proposed to her while Densher was in Venice. She suspects that when she rejected his offer, he began to suspect that she was engaged to Densher. However, Lord Mark had left Venice after telling Milly of the engagement, convinced Densher was in love with Milly.

Densher then asks Kate about her father. She tells him that her father is “in bed” but not “with illness” (517). She tells him her father is seeking refuge at Marian’s because he is afraid of something. She then begs Densher not to ask her any more questions about her father.

They then return to the letter Densher received from Milly. He states it was timed to arrive on Christmas Eve, “the season of gifts” (518). He has not opened it, but they both assume Milly has left Densher a substantial portion of her fortune. He gives Kate the letter as a token of his fidelity to her and as a sign that he will give her the inheritance. She throws the letter into the fire without reading it.

Two months later, in February, Densher receives a packet from a New York firm, presumably containing the details of his inheritance. In the intervening months, Kate has continued to stay at her sister’s house. Maud tells Densher that Kate will come back “when she has found some reason” (522). Densher and Susan had exchanged letters after Milly’s death, but they never saw each other again. He suspects that Susan was aware of Kate’s scheme, but he does not think she told Maud. Densher and Kate have continued to see each other, although their relationship has changed. He is conscious that they continue to wait to make their engagement public despite there no longer being any reason to do so. He recognizes that “he had given poor Kate her freedom” (527) in the form of tacitly gifting the inheritance to her. When he receives the inheritance documents from New York, he forwards them to Kate without opening them.

Soon after, Densher goes to see Kate at her sister’s house. She tells Densher that she has opened the packet to learn what Densher has inherited from Milly. He tells her that she could have simply sent the packet back without opening it. Her interest in his inheritance is a form of a “test.” Densher then tells her his terms: either they marry and forgo the inheritance, or Kate takes the inheritance, and they do not marry. She is free to do exactly as she wants. Kate remarks that Milly, as a “dove,” has “stretched out her wings, and it was that they reached. They cover us” (532). Kate asks for Densher’s word that he is not in love with the memory of Milly. He does not reply, stating only that he will marry Kate as soon as she would like. The novel ends ambiguously as Kate turns away from Densher, saying, “We shall never be again as we were!” (533).