Company For Henry

My wife believes that once you read one PGW you have read them all. Well I hate to admit it, but this story has a strong resemblance to The Girl In Blue.

Henry - Inherits a White Elephant. What was once a long shot, becomes a reality, once several of his immediate relatives die putting him in possession of a Ashby Hall, a monstrosity built during the Regency period.

Algy - Henry's nephew, never has done a days honest work. Lives by sponging on people. Barely wakes up before noon and most days he never gets out of bed.

Jane - Henry's niece, betrothed to a handsome, but fickle louse.

Lionel P Green - The louse that Jane loves (I could not resist that).

Thomas Hardy - aka Bill has a face of a Chicago mobster, but a heart of gold. He writes thrillers under the pseudonym Adela Bristow. Why Adela Bristow? Well for starters he could hardly write under his real name Thomas Hardy! Also he hopes that when book store clerk hear "Agatha Christie", they accidentally gives the customer an Adela Bristow! Not a bad idea.

Bill is in love with Jane.

Stickney - an American millionaire, is distantly related to Henry. He also has a passion for paper weights, specifically 18th century paper weights.

Kelly - Stickney's aunt and a moderately glamorous widow with reminiscences that make Stickney blush.

Henry loves Kelly.

Kelly loves Henry.

Henry has an 18th century paper weight. Stickney would sell his soul to possess that. He is willing to pay a fortune for it. Henry is willing to take that fortune. Unfortunately the paper weight is attached to the Ashby Hall but not owned directly by Henry (I do not understand English law on inheritance well). So in perfect Wodehouse style Henry encourages a robbery of his own property.

Henry also wants to get rid of Ashby Hall and he feels Stickney is that mug to foist it on.

Complicated enough??