Mr Cosway and the Landlady' - a 'Little Novel' by Wilkie Collins.

Two junior naval officers, Cosway and Stone, have led too indulgent a lifestyle while awaiting the recall to their ship, whose sailing has been delayed by the severe illness of the captain. When the orders to board finally come, the two friends find they have insufficient money to pay their bills. Their landlady, Mrs Pounce, suggests a surprising way to settle their debt: one of them must marry her...

'Little Novels' published in 1887 is a collection of fourteen short stories by Wilkie Collins. Revised by the author, these stories had appeared in various British and American periodicals over the previous 10 years, very often with different titles. They are stand-alone stories dealing with a variety of subjects: love, marriage, the supernatural, class, money, and murder; most of them contain a mystery or twist to the tale which is bound to delight fans of Collins' best-known novels, 'The Woman in White' and 'The Moonstone.'

'Mr Cosway and the Landlady' is the third story in the collection. It was originally published as 'Your Money or Your Life' in the Belgravia Annual, Christmas 1881; the People's Library, 17 December 1881; and in The Seaside Library (vol. 57, No 1164), 1881.