“It certainly was an evil day for this brilliant young scion of the ancient race when he lent an ear to Timothy Beddingfield.  This man, and his family before him, had been solicitors to the Earls of Brockelsby for 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, knew the ancient family tradition anent the twin succession.  Whether he was prompted by revenge or merely self-advertisement no one knows.

“Certain it is that he did advise the Hon. Robert de Genneville—­who apparently had more debts than he conveniently could pay, and more extravagant tastes than he could gratify on a younger son’s portion—­to lay a claim, on his father’s death, to the joint title and a moiety of the revenues of the ancient barony of Genneville, that claim being based upon the validity of the fifteenth-century document.

“You may gather how extensive were the pretensions of the Hon. Robert from the fact that the greater part of Edgbaston is now built upon land belonging to the old barony.  Anyway, it was the last straw in an ocean of debt and difficulties, and I have no doubt that Beddingfield had not much trouble in persuading the Hon. Robert to commence litigation at once.

“The young Earl of Brockelsby’s attitude, however, remained one of absolute quietude in his nine points of the law.  He was in possession both of the title and of the document.  It was for the other side to force him to produce the one or to share the other.

“It was at this stage of the proceedings that the Hon. Robert was advised to marry, in order to secure, if possible, the first male heir of the next generation, since the young earl himself was still a bachelor.  A suitable fiancee was found for him by his friends in the person of Miss Mabel Brandon, the daughter of a rich Birmingham manufacturer, and the marriage was fixed to take place at Birmingham on Thursday, September 15th, 1907.

“On the 13th the Hon. Robert Ingram de Genneville arrived at the Castle Hotel in New Street for his wedding, and on the 14th, at eight o’clock in the morning, he was discovered lying on the floor of his bedroom—­murdered.

“The sensation which the awful and unexpected sequel to the Do Genneville peerage case caused in the minds of the friends of both litigants was quite unparalleled.  I don’t think any crime of modern times created quite so much stir in all classes of society.  Birmingham was wild with excitement, and the employes of the Castle Hotel had real difficulty in keeping off the eager and inquisitive crowd who thronged daily to the hall, vainly hoping to gather details of news relating to the terrible tragedy.

“At present there was but little to tell.  The shrieks of the chambermaid, who had gone into the Hon. Robert’s room with his shaving water at eight o’clock, had attracted some of the waiters.  Soon the manager and his secretary came up, and immediately sent for the police.