# Leave It to Psmith — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for Leave It to Psmith by P. G. Wodehouse.

- [Dark Plottings at Blandings Castle](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/i-dark-plottings-at-blandings-castle.md): Lord Emsworth is melancholy after mislaying his glasses, and his day worsens when his sister Lady Constance and secretary Baxter remind him he must travel to London to fetch the Canadian poet Ralston McTodd. Meanwhile, F
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/i.md): Lord Emsworth is in a melancholy state after mislaying his spectacles. His butler Beach and his son Freddie Threepwood fail to help. His secretary, the efficient Rupert Baxter, finds the glasses hanging down his back, bu
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/ii.md): Lady Constance and Mr. Keeble discuss Phyllis's letter requesting a loan of three thousand pounds for her husband Jackson's farm. Lady Constance refuses, still angry about Phyllis's marriage. Lord Emsworth interrupts, se
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iii.md): Freddie Threepwood proposes a scheme to his uncle Joseph Keeble to steal Lady Constance's necklace to raise money for Phyllis Jackson's marriage and Freddie's own bookmaking venture. After initial reluctance, Keeble agre
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iv.md): Freddie Threepwood, having agreed to steal his Aunt Constance's diamond necklace for a reward of two thousand pounds from his Uncle Joseph, experiences a severe attack of cold feet as he contemplates the risks. While pac
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/v.md): Freddie Threepwood asks his father, Lord Emsworth, for permission to go to London, claiming a dental appointment. Lord Emsworth reluctantly agrees on condition that Freddie returns on the twelve-fifty train, then resumes
- [Enter Psmith](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/ii-enter-psmith.md): Psmith calls on Mrs. Jackson but is turned away as she is hosting a private tea with old school friends. He meets Mike Jackson on the street and they go for tea together. Meanwhile, Eve Halliday visits Phyllis Jackson, a
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/i.md): Psmith visits Mike Jackson's home in West Kensington, only to be turned away by the maid because Phyllis Jackson is hosting a tea for old school friends. He meets Mike on the street and they go for tea. Psmith explains h
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/ii.md): Eve Halliday visits Phyllis Jackson for a reunion tea party, where they are joined by Miss Clarkson. The conversation reveals Eve's financial troubles and her reckless bet on a horse. Miss Clarkson brings distressing new
- [III: Eve Borrows an Umbrella](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iii-eve-borrows-an-umbrella.md): Eve Halliday visits her friend Miss Clarkson at the Ada Clarkson International Employment Bureau, discussing the troubles of their mutual friend Cynthia and reminiscing about their own hard lives. After leaving, she is c
- [Painful Scene at the Drones Club](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iv-painful-scene-at-the-drones-club.md): Psmith returns to the Drones Club after giving away Comrade Walderwick's umbrella to a young woman in the rain. He defends his actions with characteristic eloquence, comparing himself to Sir Walter Raleigh. Later, he vis
- [Psmith Applies for Employment](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/v-psmith-applies-for-employment.md): Psmith visits an employment bureau and encounters Eve Halliday, who had borrowed his umbrella earlier. After a series of misunderstandings about names, Psmith learns Eve's true identity from Miss Clarkson and expresses i
- [Lord Emsworth Meets a Poet](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/vi-lord-emsworth-meets-a-poet.md): Psmith retrieves responses to his newspaper advertisement, finding mostly financial offers and circulars, but one intriguing letter arranges a meeting at the Piccadilly Palace Hotel. He obtains a pink chrysanthemum as in
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/i.md): Psmith receives a mysterious letter requesting a meeting at the Piccadilly Palace Hotel. He dons a pink chrysanthemum and goes to the lobby, where he attempts to identify the writer by saying the code phrase 'There will 
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/ii.md): Psmith meets Freddie Threepwood at the lobby of a hotel, where Freddie, having responded to Psmith's advertisement, nervously proposes that Psmith steal his aunt's diamond necklace to help him raise a thousand pounds. De
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iii.md): Psmith, seeking a quiet place to lunch and reflect on his meeting with Eve Halliday, chooses the Senior Conservative Club. There, he encounters the Earl of Emsworth, who is absentmindedly apologizing after bumping into h
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iv.md): Lord Emsworth and Ralston McTodd have a disastrous lunch at the club. Lord Emsworth, having lost his glasses, is oblivious to McTodd's irritation and dominates the conversation with talk of gardens and his feud with Angu
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/v.md): Psmith, having been mistaken for the poet Ralston McTodd by Lord Emsworth, decides to continue the impersonation and accepts an invitation to Blandings Castle. He learns that Eve Halliday will also be visiting. After Lor
- [Baxter Suspects](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/vii-baxter-suspects.md): Psmith travels to Blandings Castle with Lord Emsworth, successfully impersonating the poet Ralston McTodd. On the train, he learns from Freddie Threepwood about a scheme to steal Lady Constance's necklace to help Freddie
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/i.md): Psmith, impersonating the poet Ralston McTodd, travels by train to Blandings Castle with Lord Emsworth. He learns that Lady Constance invited McTodd after reading his poetry, and that no one at Blandings knows McTodd by 
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/ii.md): Freddie Threepwood, having missed his train and spent the afternoon at a cinema, is startled to find Psmith on the train to Blandings. Lord Emsworth introduces Psmith as the poet McTodd, and Freddie realizes Psmith is im
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iii.md): Psmith arrives at Blandings Castle, is welcomed by Lord Emsworth, Lady Constance, and Miss Peavey, and is immediately subjected to the adoration of the poetess. He signs her autograph-book with a line of poetry, while th
- [Confidences on the Lake](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/viii-confidences-on-the-lake.md): Psmith and Eve row on the lake, where Eve confronts him about his supposed marriage to Cynthia. Psmith is shocked to learn of McTodd's marital status. Later, Psmith advises Freddie on love and suspects a housemaid of bei
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/i.md): At breakfast at Blandings Castle, the arrival of Miss Halliday is announced by Rupert Baxter. Psmith claims her as an old friend, causing Baxter and Freddie Threepwood to react with surprise. Lord Emsworth, distracted by
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/ii.md): Psmith and Freddie Threepwood discuss Freddie's anxieties about Baxter's suspicions and a new housemaid who might be a detective. Psmith offers humorous advice, and Freddie confesses his love for Eve Halliday, asking Psm
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iii.md): Psmith meets Eve Halliday at the Market Blandings train station and drives her to Blandings Castle. He guides her through the grounds, asserting a playful authority, and they encounter Freddie Threepwood embracing a hous
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iv.md): Psmith recovers from the shock of finding Freddie Threepwood with a girl in the bushes, and leads Eve Halliday away. He deflects her concerns, teases her about Freddie's affections, and then escorts her toward the house.
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/v.md): Eve confronts Psmith about his marriage to Cynthia, her old school friend, during a boat ride. Psmith, impersonating Ralston McTodd, fabricates a story of Cynthia's terrible behavior, including throwing bacon and drinkin
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/vi.md): Freddie Threepwood bursts into Psmith's room with alarming news: Baxter has seen through Psmith's impersonation of Ralston McTodd. Baxter compared the handwriting in McTodd's original acceptance letter with Psmith's auto
- [Psmith Engages a Valet](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/ix-psmith-engages-a-valet.md): Psmith lounges under a cedar tree, disappointed that Eve Halliday insists on cataloguing the library instead of spending the afternoon with him. He reflects on the oppressive heat and the absence of the castle's inhabita
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/i.md): Psmith lounges under a cedar tree at Blandings Castle, trying to persuade Eve Halliday to abandon her work cataloguing the library and spend the afternoon with him. She refuses, citing her conscience and fear of Mr. Baxt
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/ii.md): Psmith, having arrived at Blandings Castle under the guise of the poet Ralston McTodd, encounters the real McTodd's acquaintance, a young man named Cootes who had planned to impersonate McTodd to steal Lady Constance's n
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iii.md): Edward Cootes, dejected after failing to secure entry to Blandings Castle to steal Lady Constance's necklace, walks back to Market Blandings while reflecting on his past as a cardsharper on Atlantic liners and his lost p
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iv.md): Miss Peavey is astonished to encounter her old partner Eddie Cootes on a country road near Blandings Castle. They reunite warmly, and Cootes explains he has lost his finger and can no longer work the boats. Peavey reveal
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/v.md): Psmith is caught by Miss Peavey after she returns early from Bridgeford. She engages him in conversation about his poetry, but he manages to escape. He is then confronted by Edward Cootes, who reveals he knows Psmith is 
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/vi.md): Psmith reflects on disarming Cootes and considers the challenge of hiding the necklace. Cootes confronts him, threatening to search his room. Psmith then discusses his need for solitude to write poetry with Beach, and in
- [Sensational Occurrence at a Poetry Reading](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/x-sensational-occurrence-at-a-poetry-reading.md): Eve confronts Psmith about his deception regarding Cynthia, who has written that her husband is in Paris. Psmith proposes to Eve, but she is furious. Later, during Psmith's poetry reading, the lights go out and Lady Cons
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/i.md): After breakfast at Blandings Castle, the guests disperse to their morning activities. Miss Aileen Peavey, a poetess with a larcenous streak, walks alone in the Yew Alley, troubled by the disappearance of her partner-in-c
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/ii.md): Eve Halliday learns that Freddie Threepwood has secured two thousand pounds from his uncle, Joseph Keeble, and feels guilty for neglecting her promise to help Phyllis Jackson. She rebuffs Freddie's marriage proposal, the
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iii.md): Eve Halliday encounters Joseph Keeble outside Jno. Banks's barber shop in Market Blandings. She confronts him about helping her friend Phyllis, his stepdaughter, purchase a farm. Their conversation reveals that Keeble ha
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iv.md): Psmith proposes to Eve Halliday on the terrace after she discovers his deception about Cynthia. Eve is initially furious but later feels exhilarated. During Psmith's poetry reading, the lights go out and Lady Constance's
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/v.md): Eve Halliday, having planned to retrieve a valuable necklace, seizes an unexpected opportunity when she finds it in her hands. She hides it in a distinctive flowerpot with a splash of white paint, then returns to the hou
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/vi.md): Mr. Cootes, running vigorously, rounds the corner of the house and bursts onto the terrace, arriving late as usual.
- [Almost Entirely About Flowerpots](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/xi-almost-entirely-about-flowerpots.md): In the early morning, Psmith encounters Baxter, who has been digging in the garden and throwing flowerpots. Baxter explains he thought Lady Constance's necklace was in a flowerpot, leading Lord Emsworth to believe his se
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/i.md): The Efficient Baxter, secretary at Blandings Castle, investigates the theft of Lady Constance's necklace during a sudden blackout. He consults with Susan, a parlourmaid who is secretly a private detective named Miss Simm
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/ii.md): The Efficient Baxter, unable to sleep due to his overactive mind, investigates a noise in the hall and discovers the front door open. He ventures onto the terrace in pursuit of a potential thief, but after a perilous des
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iii.md): Rupert Baxter, locked out of Blandings Castle in his lemon-coloured pyjamas at half-past two in the morning, futilely searches for a way back inside. He sits on the terrace wall, brooding over the hiding place of Lady Co
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iv.md): Lord Emsworth is awakened at four in the morning by flowerpots thrown through his window by his secretary, Rupert Baxter, who is in a wild state and clad only in lemon-colored pyjamas. Distressed and panicked, Lord Emswo
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/v.md): In the early morning, Psmith encounters Baxter after his flowerpot-throwing spree, leading to a confrontation with Lord Emsworth. Baxter's confession that he was digging for Lady Constance's necklace convinces Lord Emswo
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/vi.md): Eve Halliday, after a restless night, descends the stairs at half-past five in the morning to retrieve the necklace she had hidden in a flowerpot by the front door. She feels exhilarated and confident, having successfull
- [More on the Flowerpot Theme](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/xii-more-on-the-flowerpot-theme.md): The aftermath of the necklace theft divides the Blandings house-party into two camps: the gloomy (Lady Constance, Mr. Keeble, Freddie, Lord Emsworth, Baxter) and the joyful (the younger set). Mr. Keeble promises to buy L
- [Psmith Receives Guests](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/xiii-psmith-receives-guests.md): As Blandings Castle prepares for the County Ball, Eve Halliday, furious at having been deceived by Psmith, walks on the terrace. Freddie Threepwood joins her, and they discuss the necklace. Psmith arrives, and after a te
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/i.md): Eve Halliday, furious at being deceived by Psmith, plans to retrieve the stolen necklace from his cottage with Freddie Threepwood's help. Freddie reveals he recruited Psmith to steal the necklace for his uncle Joseph Kee
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/ii.md): Eve and Freddie search the cottage for the missing diamond necklace, tearing it apart in the process. Freddie refuses to go into the cellar due to a fear of beetles, so Eve searches it herself and finds nothing. As she p
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iii.md): Psmith is surprised to find Eve Halliday in his cottage, having skipped the County Ball to guard against Cootes. Eve demands the necklace, but Psmith explains he is keeping it for his friend Mike Jackson's wife Phyllis, 
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iv.md): Mr. Cootes and Miss Peavey confront Eve and Psmith at gunpoint, revealing their criminal intentions to steal the necklace. Psmith engages them in conversation to buy time, and a distraction occurs when Freddie Threepwood
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/v.md): After Miss Peavey and Cootes depart, Eve and Psmith share a quiet moment in the cottage. Eve reflects on her feelings and decides to accept Psmith's proposal, joking about his eccentricity and future titles. They briefly
- [Psmith Accepts Employment](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/xiv-psmith-accepts-employment.md): On a perfect summer morning at Blandings Castle, Lord Emsworth broods over the departure of his efficient secretary Rupert Baxter, whom he dismissed after the flowerpot incident. Lady Constance rebukes him for losing Bax

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