The Triflers

In Short

This novel follows Monte Covington and Marjory Stockton, two young Americans wandering through Europe who decide to marry simply to escape the social pressures of persistent suitors and nosy chaperones. They treat their union as a business arrangement, intending to maintain separate lives and continue their carefree travels. However, as the proximity of the "marriage" forces them into genuine intimacy, they confront the hollow selfishness of their lives. It is a story of personal awakening, enduring as a period piece that captures the tension between the aimless luxury of the Edwardian era and the encroaching demands of a changing world.

The Story

Monte Covington is a wealthy, amiable bachelor in his prime, entirely content with a life of leisure and travel. He prides himself on having never been tangled in a serious romantic attachment. In a chance encounter with Marjory Stockton, a young woman similarly desperate to avoid the encroaching demands of eager suitors like Teddy Hamilton, they strike a bargain. To ensure Marjory’s independence and protect Monte from boredom, they decide to marry. The arrangement is strictly practical: they will be husband and wife in name only, allowing them to travel together without scandal while maintaining separate quarters.

The plan immediately unravels upon contact with reality. When Monte is wounded while intervening in a volatile confrontation between Marjory and a distraught Hamilton, Marjory finds herself thrust into the role of nurse. The forced proximity of the sickroom creates a new, inescapable intimacy. As they move through the scenic villages of the French Riviera, the pretense of their "friendly" engagement begins to feel like a cage. Marjory, in particular, begins to chafe against the dishonesty of their situation, especially after encountering Peter Noyes, a man who loves her with an intensity and purpose she has never known.

As Marjory grapples with the realization that she has been "trifling" with the sacred nature of commitment, she becomes desperate to set Monte free so she can rectify her own life. She attempts to retreat from him, but Monte, who has been shaken out of his decade-long apathy by his growing devotion to her, refuses to let the farce continue as a shallow lie. He realizes that his previous life of comfort was an empty shell and that he is irrevocably in love with his own wife.

The couple’s internal struggle reaches a breaking point against the backdrop of an impending war. Marjory, now fully awakened to her own capacity for love and sacrifice, tries to push Monte toward his old life of ease. However, when the two finally confront each other on the Cornice Road under the stars, the superficial barriers of their "arrangement" vanish. Pressed by the reality of their feelings and the gravity of the world around them, Marjory admits her love. They abandon their plan for a convenient separation and embrace a genuine union, moving from a life of aimless trifling toward the weight and joy of a shared, purposeful future.

How It Unfolds

The pact is made Monte and Marjory, both weary of social expectations, decide to marry as a "camarade de voyage" arrangement to secure their personal freedom. They agree to maintain the charade of a marriage while living essentially as strangers to avoid unwanted intrusions.

The incident of the pistol A dramatic confrontation with a jilted suitor results in Monte being shot, forcing Marjory into the role of his nurse. This proximity shatters their initial boundaries and introduces a new, deeper current of emotional dependence.

The realization of the lie As they travel, Marjory encounters Peter Noyes and realizes that her marriage is an empty, dishonest performance. She feels a growing sense of shame for having "trifled" with love and begins to view her marriage as a barrier to being a sincere person.

The final confrontation In the shadow of a changing world and the threat of war, Monte and Marjory find themselves alone on the Cornice Road. They abandon their carefully maintained emotional distance, finally acknowledging their love and choosing to face the future together rather than continuing their separate existences.

The People

Monte Covington is a man of immense wealth and effortless charm who has spent a decade avoiding any challenge that might disrupt his comfort. He begins the book as a "trifler" but is eventually forced to abandon his aimless schedule as he discovers the depth of his devotion to Marjory.

Marjory Stockton is an artist who initially views marriage as a threat to her autonomy. Haunted by a fear of being owned or pressured by others, she enters the marriage to escape. Her journey involves transitioning from a state of fearful, self-absorbed independence to a state of profound, self-sacrificing love.

Peter Noyes serves as the catalyst for the couple's awakening. Blind and possessed of a fierce, honest love for Marjory, he represents the "man-fashion" life that Monte and Marjory have been running away from. His presence forces them to confront the cowardice of their own arrangement.

In Its Own Voice

"I 'd like to be"--she spoke hesitatingly--"I'd like to be just like you, Monte."

Marjory expresses her desire for the absolute, aimless freedom that Monte embodies at the start of their acquaintance.

"There is n't any danger of that, is there?"

Monte asks this while clinging to the hope that their brief, intense period of shared life can be cleanly wiped away to restore his old, predictable routine.

"I do!" she whispered.

Marjory finally abandons her defenses when Monte demands the truth under the weight of a world at war.

What It's Really About

At its core, this book is an exploration of the difference between "freedom" and "living." It argues that true independence is not found in the avoidance of responsibility or the pursuit of perpetual comfort, but in the willingness to commit to something—or someone—that demands one's full self. The characters begin by equating freedom with the ability to do nothing, but they end by discovering that genuine happiness requires the courage to "let oneself go" and accept the burdens that come with being human. It is a subtle critique of the idle, wealthy class of the early 20th century, suggesting that a life without struggle is a life that never truly begins.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy character-driven dramas with a slow-burn emotional intensity will find much to appreciate in the slow transformation of the protagonists. The prose is elegant and conversational, capturing a specific, vanished world of luxury hotels and aimless, sun-drenched European wandering. It feels like a quiet, intimate look at the moment when the "Lost Generation" sensibilities began to emerge from the upper class.

However, modern readers should be prepared for the period-specific attitudes regarding gender and class. The characters are undeniably products of their time; their "problems" are those of people with immense financial insulation, and the language occasionally reflects the social hierarchies of 1915. If you are looking for a fast-paced plot, the measured, introspective pace may feel slow. Yet, for those who value a character study that lingers on the quiet, internal shifts of the heart, the book offers a rewarding journey. It leaves the reader with a lingering sense of how fragile our defenses against intimacy truly are, and how even the most determined "trifler" can be swept off their feet by the unexpected weight of their own humanity.