A Strong Man's Vow

Excerpt from A Strong Man's Vow
Never before had such a thing happened within the memory of the oldest inhabitant in Penwithen, and as a consequence the whole neighbourhood for miles around was agog with excitement. But then the circumstances were peculiar. Three generations had passed away, and no daughter had been born in Penwithen House, the home of the Earls of Cornwall. People regarded the fact somewhat superstitiously, and perhaps it was not at all wonderful that they should. For three generations, only one child had been born to be heir of the great Penwithen estates, and that child was a son. In each case he had been given the same name, Rex; and each in turn, when he entered into his possessions, had married a lady befitting his rank, and in each case one son, the one son only, had been born. But exactly seventeen years before my story opens, a daughter had been born to the Earl of Cornwall. Of course, the Earl hoped for a son as well, but his desires were not realised.