And it is further decreed that the
marriage of Hugo and the marriages of his descendants shall be deemed
valid and lawful, the same as though their respective consorts were of
the Blood Royal."
"Is that sufficiently definite, sir?" the King asked.
"It is very extraordinary," I said, in wonder.
"There is a bit more," he said, and resumed reading:
"The titles conferred upon Hugo shall, however, remain in abeyance until
claimed anew by him or by his right heir male; nor shall the latter be
eligible to the Crown unless hereinafter specifically decreed so to
be--or, in event of a vacancy in the royal dignity without such decree
having been so made, then, by special Act of the House of Nobles.
"HENRY III., Rex,
"Ye 7th September, A.D. 1785."
The King closed the book. "That," said he, "is the record," and motioned
me to sit down.
I obeyed mechanically. Through my head was ringing those last few words
that made possible the Crown of my ancestors. Under the Decree I was, de
jure, the eldest male after the King; it needed only his act to make me
his successor. A single line, sealed with his seal, in that big book
just beside me, and plain Armand Dalberg, Major in the Army of the United
States of America, would be Heir Presumptive to one of the great Kingdoms
of Earth.
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