Sir Philip's folly Book

This 4th installment in The Poor Relation Collection is my favourite ! By the time we get to this novel, 2 of the poor relations have left: Harriet James married the Duke of Rowcester and Mrs. Eliza Budley married a marquess. The remaining poor relations are plodding along as best they can and enjoying the prosperity of their hotel, until old Sir Philip's lustful habits threaten to ruin everybody's peace of mind. Sir P has grown tired of competing with Colonel Sandhurst for Lady Fortescue's attention and has now got a girlfriend of his own ! Ordinarily, that might be a good thing because he's in his 70's so one might think it cute and sweet that he's found true love. Alas ! It's not true love for randy old Sir P, but true lust ! Sir P gets himself tangled with an awful, gross, lazy, greedy, obese, manipulative shrew of a woman called Mrs. Budge. To make life worse for everybody, Sir P has brought Mrs. Budge to live with him at the "Poor Relations Hotel".Nobody likes Mrs. Budge:


Even the servants found Mrs. Budge gross and vulgar. She was fat, not cosy armfuls of fat, but solid, rather threatening fat, with two huge bosoms like stuffed cushions pushed up under her many chins.

M. C. Beaton. Sir Philip's Folly (The Poor Relation Series Book 4) (Kindle Locations 23-24). RosettaBooks. Kindle Edition.

This is Mrs. Budge, who is often found lazing around eating or sleeping or waiting to have sex with Sir P:



That photo coupled with images of her and Sir Philip engaging in sweaty sex is enough to make a person puke:



Sir P is also causing a lot of heartache for Miss Tonks ( the 40 something yr old spinster in the group ) because this dear lady had hoped that he would develop romantic feelings for her. Miss Tonks is depressed because Harriet and Eliza are now a duchess and a marchioness, respectively, and she feels left behind and alone. The wily Sir P doesn't even know that Miss Tonks has romantic feelings for him, because he is obsessed with all the nasty sex he's getting from sweaty, lazy Mrs. Budge. The poor relations all decide that something must be done to get rid of Mrs. Budge, because the lady's tacky and common behaviour is turning off hotel guests:


"I am sure it is Mrs. Budge who is beginning to turn away customers," said Lady Fortescue. "The Rochesters and Bensonhursts have cancelled."

M. C. Beaton. Sir Philip's Folly (The Poor Relation Series Book 4) (Kindle Locations 44-45). RosettaBooks. Kindle Edition.

Mrs. Budge is also not helping with any chores, not paying for her accommodation or food and Sir P is using all his money ( and dipping into the general income pot as well ) to buy expensive gifts for her. The poor relations get an idea for a scheme from a young 19 yr old guest, Arabella Carruthers. Arabella is the romantic heroine in this installment of the series. She's got problems of her own because her mother Lady Carruthers is forcing her to dress as an adolescent and to wear her hear loose or in pigtails. Lady Carruthers is a 40 something yr old widow who is husband hunting and she thinks that if people believe that her daughter is still an adolescent then they'll think she herself is younger than her numerical age. This woman needed some therapy ! She's obsessed with staying young and even wears dresses that are suitable for debutantes. She's also sternly opposed to allowing her daughter to have a debut season until she herself has found a husband. This is Arabella:



This is her neurotic and jealous mother, Lady Carruthers:



The big problem between mother and daughter is the fact that they're both crazy about the same man ! He's the 32 yr old romantic hero of this installment - The Earl of Denby:



The Earl of D is not attracted to Lady Carruthers and he thinks that Arabella is about 14 yrs old so he treats her like a kid. That's where the poor relations come in with a plan of their own. Miss Tonks and the other poor relations feel sorry for Arabella and devise a plan to help her get the Earl and thwart her mother's evil ploys. In return for their help, Arabella tells them about her plan to help them get rid of the parasitic Mrs. Budge. They decide to hire an actor called Mr. Davy to play the part of a wealthy merchant who is going to court Mrs. Budge and sway her fickle affections away from Sir P. This is Mr. Davy:



The mercenary Mrs. Budge soon swoons for the "rich" and charming Mr. Davy and poor Sir P is as mad as hell when he sees that his lady love is losing interest in him. This is Sir Philip:



Miss Tonks also decides to get herself a new, short hairstyle and she succeeds in garnering attention from not only Sir P but from Mr. Davy as well. This is Miss Tonks:



There was so much fun and fabulous drama as these storylines developed. The Earl of D grows to develop strong feelings for Arabella and decides to help the poor relations to plan a fancy debut ball in the young heroine's honour. Of course, there is still the evil Lady Carruthers who keeps chasing after the Earl. That woman was beyond delusional in her efforts to become the Countess of Denby. First of all, she actually believed that he was interested in her and whenever he tried to question her about Arabella, the self centered lady assumed that he was thinking in terms of being her daughter's new stepfather. I kept laughing at, and cussing, Lady Carruthers because nothing seemed to give this woman the right message. It took a rather radical plan of Sir Philip's to make her finally allow Arabella to appear in public dressed as a 19 yr old debutante. That's why I enjoyed this novel the most; Sir Philip's keen con artist plans and his cunning schemes provide great comic relief while simultaneously solving major problems. His plan involved the public humiliation of Lady Carruthers, by bringing Arabella's plight to the attention of the Ton. Lady C was forced to stop locking the girl in her room and the heroine was finally able to spend a lot of time with the Earl.

At the grand ball, things work out beautifully for the Earl and Arabella when he proposes to her in public. Lady Carruthers has a huge public meltdown when she realizes finally that it's her daughter who's going to be the new Countess of Denby:



Holding Arabella's hand, the earl said in a loud voice, "I am the happiest of men. Miss Arabella Carruthers has agreed to become my wife." There was laughing and cheering and then a terrible scream rent the air. Feathered head-dress askew, Lady Carruthers thrust her way forward to the front.

"You're marrying me!" she shouted. "Me, me, ME!"

The earl put his arm about Arabella's shoulders and shook his head. Lady Carruthers fell to the floor and began to scream and drum her feet in a paroxysm of rage.

M. C. Beaton. Sir Philip's Folly (The Poor Relation Series Book 4) (Kindle Locations 1926-1931). RosettaBooks. Kindle Edition.

Sir Philip also comes to senses and dumps the frightful Mrs. Budge after she insults Miss Tonks:


And then the office door opened and Mrs. Budge came in. "What's going on here?" she demanded. "And where have you been, Philip?"

"Mind your own business," snapped Miss Tonks, colouring up.

"Don't get cheeky with me, you old fright," sneered Mrs. Budge.

"That's it," said Sir Philip. "Don't you dare insult my Miss Tonks, not now, not ever. Go and pack your bags, woman, and get out of my sight."

"But sweetheart, light of my life'"

"Get out," screamed Sir Philip, waving his little arms. "Never let me see you again!"
And that, as Lady Fortescue was to say afterwards, was when Sir Philip began to redeem himself.


M. C. Beaton. Sir Philip's Folly (The Poor Relation Series Book 4) (Kindle Locations 2060-2067). RosettaBooks. Kindle Edition.

Arabella and the Earl of D get married, Lady Carruthers is still single and bitter, Mrs. Budge is back to living in her old damp flat and the poor relations can breathe a sigh of relief. However, old Sir Philip creates a big new problem when he gambles their money on a horse race and loses it all. That financial difficulty, and the way the poor relations deal with it, is the basis for the the next installment Colonel Sandhurst to the Rescue. The novel ends on a bittersweet note for poor Sir P who has only come to realize how much he likes Miss Tonks when it's a bit too late; that's because the more assertive and confident Miss Tonks is now enamoured with the actor, Mr. Davy.