The Butler Did It

 

By P.G. Wodehouse

It's a tontine! 

It all begin with a gathering of New York millionaires at J.J. Bunyan house. In addition to the millionaires, also in attendance were an art expert, Mortimer Bayliss, who worked for Bunyan and Bunyan's butler, Augustus Keggs. It was the Bayliss who suggested the tontine. Each of the ten millionaires would contribute $50,000 to the pot. But instead of the last millionaire standing getting the approximately $500,000, the money would go to the millionaires' son that was the last one to get married. Of course, the sons were not to know about the tontine.

Jump forward about twenty-five years. All of the millionaires' sons except two have gotten married. One is J.J.'s son, Roscoe who is now living in England as is J.J.'s former butler, Keggs. Turns out Keggs was listening in when the tontine was formed and it also turns out Keggs is a man with rather flexible morals. He goes to Roscoe and reveals to him the facts of the tontine, expecting Roscoe will pay him well for the information. Instead all he gets from Roscoe is 50£. In revenge, Keggs fingers the wrong man, namely one Stanhope Twine, as the other man in the running for the tontine payout. Knowing Twine is an unsuccessful artist who is engaged to a friend of Keggs and that Twine is too poor to actually marry his fiancee, Keggs suggests that if Roscoe bought a piece of Twine's art for a hefty sum, about $20,000, then Twine would be able to marry his fiancee, Jane Benedick. Roscoe decides it's a good idea and spends $20,000 on Twine's sculpture.

Meanwhile, Bill Hollister, whose father was one of the tontine millionaires, is also in England, working at an art gallery. He happens to meet Twine's fiancee, Jane Benedick, and he falls in love at first sight. Jane's uncle, Lord Uffenham, is trying to sell off some of his old family paintings and is working with Bill's art gallery. Uffenham doesn't like Twine and when he discovers Bill has fallen for Jane, he bonks Bill in the head in order to make Jane realize she loves Bill too. And it works, Jane rushes to his side with bandages and gentle caresses. 

And Keggs springs his revenge on Roscoe, revealing that Roscoe wasted his money on the wrong man. Keggs also tells Bill that his dad was part of the tontine and if Roscoe marries first, Bill will get the $500,000. But if it means Bill can't marry Jane, Bill is not interested. He would rather be with Jane than with the $500,000. 

But somehow true love will triumph and Wodehouse makes all right at the end.

This is a typical later Wodehouse story of lovers overcoming complications and finding each other, and usually getting a bit of loot in the process. Same story, slightly different circumstances. Still I thought the tontine plot was pretty good and I did enjoy the story.