CHAPTER XXXI
THE DE GENNEVILLE PEERAGE
The man in the corner rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and looked out uponthe busy street below.
"I suppose," he said, "there is some truth in the saying that Providencewatches over bankrupts, kittens, and lawyers."
"I didn't know there was such a saying," replied Polly, with guardeddignity.
"Isn't there? Perhaps I am misquoting; anyway, there should be. Kittens,it seems, live and thrive through social and domestic upheavals whichwould annihilate a self-supporting tom-cat, and to-day I read in themorning papers the account of a noble lord's bankruptcy, and in thesociety ones that of his visit at the house of a Cabinet minister, wherehe is the most honoured guest. As for lawyers, when Providence hadexhausted all other means of securing their welfare, it brought forththe peerage cases."
"I believe, as a matter of fact, that this special dispensation ofProvidence, as you call it, requires more technical knowledge than anyother legal complication that comes before the law courts," she said.
"And also a great deal more money in the client's pocket than any othercomplication. Now, take the Brockelsby peerage case. Have you any ideahow much money was spent over that soap bubble, which only burst aftermany hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds went in lawyers' andcounsels' fees?"
"I suppose a great deal of money was spent on both sides," she replied,"until that sudden, awful issue--"
"Which settled the dispute effectually," he interrupted with a drychuckle. "Of course, it is very doubtful if any reputable solicitorwould have taken up the case. Timothy Beddingfield, the Birminghamlawyer, is a gentleman who--well--has had some misfortunes, shall wesay? He is still on the rolls, mind you, but I doubt if any case wouldhave its chances improved by his conducting it. Against that there isjust this to be said, that some of these old peerages have such peculiarhistories, and own such wonderful archives, that a claim is always worthinvestigating--you never know what may be the rights of it.
"I believe that, at first, every one laughed over the pretensions of theHon. Robert Ingram de Genneville to the joint title and part revenues ofthe old barony of Genneville, but, obviously, he _might_ have got hiscase. It certainly sounded almost like a fairy-tale, this claim basedupon the supposed validity of an ancient document over 400 years old. Itwas _then_ that a mediaeval Lord de Genneville, more endowed with musclethan common sense, became during his turbulent existence muchembarrassed and hopelessly puzzled through the presentation made to himby his lady of twin-born sons.
"His embarrassment chiefly arose from the fact that my lady'sattendants, while ministering to the comfort of the mother, had, in amoment of absent-mindedness, so placed the two infants in their cot thatsubsequently no one, not even--perhaps least of all--the mother, couldtell which was the one who had been the first to make his appearanceinto this troublesome and puzzling world.
"After many years of cogitation, during which the Lord de Gennevilleapproached nearer to the grave and his sons to man's estate, he gave uptrying to solve the riddle as to which of the twins should succeed tohis title and revenues; he appealed to his Liege Lord and King--Edward,fourth of that name--and with the latter's august sanction he drew up acertain document, wherein he enacted that both his sons should, afterhis death, share his titles and goodly revenues, and that the first sonborn in wedlock of _either_ father should subsequently be the sole heir.
"In this document was also added that if in future times should anyLords de Genneville be similarly afflicted with twin sons, who had equalrights to be considered the eldest born, the same rule should apply asto the succession.
"Subsequently a Lord de Genneville was created Earl of Brockelsby by oneof the Stuart kings, but for four hundred years after its enactment theextraordinary deed of succession remained a mere tradition, theCountesses of Brockelsby having, seemingly, no predilection for twins.But in 1878 the mistress of Brockelsby Castle presented her lord withtwin-born sons.
"Fortunately, in modern times, science is more wide-awake, andattendants more careful. The twin brothers did not get mixed up, and oneof them was styled Viscount Tirlemont, and was heir to the earldom,whilst the other, born two hours later, was that fascinating, dashingyoung Guardsman, well known at Hurlingham, Goodwood, London, and in hisown county--the Hon. Robert Ingram de Genneville.
"It certainly was an evil day for this brilliant young scion of theancient race when he lent an ear to Timothy Beddingfield. This man, andhis family before him, had been solicitors to the Earls of Brockelsbyfor many generations, but Timothy, owing to certain 'irregularities,'had forfeited the confidence of his client, the late earl.
"He was still in practice in Birmingham, however, and, of course, knewthe ancient family tradition anent the twin succession. Whether he wasprompted by revenge or merely self-advertisement no one knows.
"Certain it is that he did advise the Hon. Robert de Genneville--whoapparently had more debts than he conveniently could pay, and moreextravagant tastes than he could gratify on a younger son's portion--tolay a claim, on his father's death, to the joint title and a moiety ofthe revenues of the ancient barony of Genneville, that claim being basedupon the validity of the fifteenth-century document.
"You may gather how extensive were the pretensions of the Hon. Robertfrom the fact that the greater part of Edgbaston is now built upon landbelonging to the old barony. Anyway, it was the last straw in an oceanof debt and difficulties, and I have no doubt that Beddingfield had notmuch trouble in persuading the Hon. Robert to commence litigation atonce.
"The young Earl of Brockelsby's attitude, however, remained one ofabsolute quietude in his nine points of the law. He was in possessionboth of the title and of the document. It was for the other side toforce him to produce the one or to share the other.
"It was at this stage of the proceedings that the Hon. Robert wasadvised to marry, in order to secure, if possible, the first male heirof the next generation, since the young earl himself was still abachelor. A suitable _fiancee_ was found for him by his friends in theperson of Miss Mabel Brandon, the daughter of a rich Birminghammanufacturer, and the marriage was fixed to take place at Birmingham onThursday, September 15th, 1907.
"On the 13th the Hon. Robert Ingram de Genneville arrived at the CastleHotel in New Street for his wedding, and on the 14th, at eight o'clockin the morning, he was discovered lying on the floor of hisbedroom--murdered.
"The sensation which the awful and unexpected sequel to the DeGenneville peerage case caused in the minds of the friends of bothlitigants was quite unparalleled. I don't think any crime of moderntimes created quite so much stir in all classes of society. Birminghamwas wild with excitement, and the employes of the Castle Hotel had realdifficulty in keeping off the eager and inquisitive crowd who throngeddaily to the hall, vainly hoping to gather details of news relating tothe terrible tragedy.
"At present there was but little to tell. The shrieks of thechambermaid, who had gone into the Hon. Robert's room with his shavingwater at eight o'clock, had attracted some of the waiters. Soon themanager and his secretary came up, and immediately sent for the police.
"It seemed at first sight as if the young man had been the victim of ahomicidal maniac, so brutal had been the way in which he had beenassassinated. The head and body were battered and bruised by some heavystick or poker, almost past human shape, as if the murderer had wishedto wreak some awful vengeance upon the body of his victim. In fact, itwould be impossible to recount the gruesome aspect of that room and ofthe murdered man's body such as the police and the medical officer tooknote of that day.
"It was supposed that the murder had been committed the evening before,as the victim was dressed in his evening clothes, and all the lights inthe room had been left fully turned on. Robbery, also, must have had alarge share in the miscreant's motives, for the drawers and cupboards,the portmanteau and dressing-bag had been ransacked as if in search ofvaluables. On the floor there lay a pocket-book torn in half and onlycontaining a few letters addresse
d to the Hon. Robert de Genneville.
"The Earl of Brockelsby, next-of-kin to the deceased, was alsotelegraphed for. He drove over from Brockelsby Castle, which is aboutseven miles from Birmingham. He was terribly affected by the awfulnessof the tragedy, and offered a liberal reward to stimulate the activityof the police in search of the miscreant.
"The inquest was fixed for the 17th, three days later, and the publicwas left wondering where the solution lay of the terrible and gruesomemurder at the Castle Hotel."