IV explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Money and Social Class

  Bill's sudden wealth transforms his social standing, yet he is more concerned with moral obligations than with the financial freedom it brings.

• Honesty and Deception

  Bill's plan to share the inheritance with Elizabeth Boyd highlights his commitment to honesty, while Jerry's cover-up of the broken portrait involves a small deception.

• Noblesse Oblige and Moral Duty

  Bill feels a strong sense of duty to compensate Elizabeth Boyd for her loss, reflecting the aristocratic ideal of noblesse oblige.

Characters to notice

• Lord Dawlish

  Bill is stunned to learn he has inherited a fortune from Ira Nutcombe, but immediately feels compelled to share it with Elizabeth Boyd, the original heir.

• Gerald Nichols

  Jerry, Bill's friend and a junior partner in the law firm, delivers the news of the inheritance with characteristic irreverence and later tries to dissuade Bill from his quixotic plan.

• Ira J. Nutcombe

  The deceased millionaire who left his fortune to Bill as a reward for curing his golf slice, a fact revealed in the will.

• Elizabeth Boyd

  The original heir to Nutcombe's fortune, now disinherited; Bill plans to seek her out in America to offer her half the money.

• Claire Fenwick

  Bill writes to Claire from Liverpool to inform her of his inheritance and his sudden departure for America, though he avoids telling her the full extent of his plans.

• Perkins

  The office boy at Nichols, Nichols, Nichols and Nichols, who only ever says 'Yes, sir' and is instructed by Jerry to cover up the broken portrait.

Key passages

• “Honestly, Bill, you make me sick. When I contemplate you the iron enters my soul. You stand there talking about your tuppenny-ha’penny job as if it mattered a hang whether you kept it or not. Can’t you understand plain English? Can’t you realize that you can buy Brown’s and turn it into a moving-picture house if you like? You’re a millionaire!”

  Jerry expresses exasperation at Bill's lack of excitement about his newfound wealth, pointing out that he no longer needs to worry about his job.

  Jerry's outburst underscores the theme of money and class, as he cannot understand why Bill remains unimpressed by his fortune.

• “What it says, when you’ve peeled off a few of the long words which they put in to make it more interesting, is that old Nutcombe leaves you the money because you are the only man who ever did him a disinterested kindness—and what I want to get out of you is, what was the disinterested kindness?”

  Jerry explains that the will states Nutcombe left Bill the money for an unselfish act, and he is curious to know what that act was.

  This quote reveals the reason for the inheritance and sets up Bill's moral dilemma.

• “I cured him of slicing.”

  Bill reveals that he helped Nutcombe fix his golf swing, which is the 'disinterested kindness' that earned him the fortune.

  This simple act of kindness is the catalyst for the entire plot.

• “But—but, well, what would you feel like in my place?”

  Bill asks Jerry how he would feel if he were in the same situation, implying his discomfort with the inheritance.

  Bill's question highlights his moral struggle and sense of duty.

• “I don't know. Not exactly that, perhaps. How would it be if I gave her half, what? Anyway I should like to find out about her, see if she's hard up, and so on. I should like to nose round, you know, and—er—and so forth, don't you know.”

  Bill suggests giving half the inheritance to Elizabeth Boyd and plans to investigate her circumstances in America.

  This shows Bill's quixotic nature and his commitment to fairness.