“London and the court there was so pleased with young Hugh that they bestowed on him and his descendants forever the privilege of assisting at the coronation of English kings.” His voice was excited and nervous as he finished the sentence.
“You understand what I am saying?” The old man looked at Dr. Prescott intently. Then he shook his head.
“Perhaps I don’t make myself quite clear,” he added. “The simple fact is,” he explained further, “that Mrs. Sherwood’s inheritance carried with it the right to assist at the present coronation! Moreover, her great uncle, Hugh Blake, who got his name from the old line, specified to those of us who were his friends, that young Nan, if she seemed to us to be worthy, should be the one to carry on! That is why we wanted her to come. That is why the villagers were so anxious to see her. And that is why,” he lowered his voice now, “I was fearful of her safety out there this night.”
“You mean there is some opposition?” Dr. Prescott asked when she found her voice after this amazing story had been told.
“Yes, on the part of one or two,” the old man admitted, “who think, and wrongly so, that if some means can be found to prevent Nan’s taking part at the crowning this spring, they will be able to prove their right to carry on when the court of claims, where such things are argued before the king’s representatives, meets a few days hence in London.”
“Does Mrs. Sherwood know of all of this?” Dr. Prescott asked further.
“Not yet. This portion of the inheritance was bestowed under the terms of another will which was put in my keeping by Hugh Blake. The Edinburgh solicitors who handled the estate for Mrs. Sherwood when she and her husband were here, know this story I have told you, however. Even now, they are awaiting word from me as to how to proceed. They are anxious, too, for Nan to come. Tonight, with your consent,” he continued, “I will send off a cable to America, explaining the circumstances. We will not proceed until we hear from Nancy’s parents.”
Somewhere in the large rooms of the old castle a clock now chimed slowly, one, two, three.
Dr. Prescott looked at her watch. “Will you be so kind,” she said as she arose from her chair, “as to wait and send that cable in the morning? What you have told me here tonight has come so unexpectedly that I’d like an hour or two to think it over before communicating with Nan’s parents.”
“You don’t object,” James Blake seemed startled at the mere thought, “to Nan’s taking part in the coronation?”