Have you forgotten that the earldom of Enderby, failing male heirs, descends to the female line?
"Her Mother's Secret"
Emma D. E. N. Southworth
In this way, then: We must admit that it is not at all unlikely that our eldest daughter may live to inherit her grandfather's earldom and become Countess of Enderby in her own right.
"Her Mother's Secret"
Emma D. E. N. Southworth
Now, if Archibald, the Grim, intruded into the earldom of Douglas, without being a son of that family, it follows that the house of Angus, being kept out of their just rights for more than a century, were only restored to them after the battle of Arkinholme.
"Minstrelsy of the Scottish border (3rd ed) (1 of 3)"
Walter Scott