1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:04,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim 2 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:18,120 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. Just about 3 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:22,680 Speaker 1: halfway between Edinburgh and London, on the outskirts of the 4 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 1: northern English city of Leeds sit an idyllic Palladian country 5 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:33,559 Speaker 1: manor known as Harewood House. Although I will say between 6 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:39,239 Speaker 1: the magnificently kept gardens and freshly manicured lawns decorating the 7 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:44,839 Speaker 1: thousand acre estate, the word house is really too modest 8 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 1: a word to describe the Downton Abbey fantasy fever dream 9 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:56,200 Speaker 1: the property more closely resembles, especially considering Downton Abbey actually 10 00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:00,880 Speaker 1: used Harewood House as a location to film the latest 11 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:05,040 Speaker 1: installment in their franchise. But should you decide to visit. 12 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:09,040 Speaker 1: If you venture beyond the estate's front doors and into 13 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:12,880 Speaker 1: one of the many drawing rooms, you might encounter a 14 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:19,280 Speaker 1: portrait whose subject doesn't quite align with the fairytale romance 15 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:23,919 Speaker 1: esthetic of the place. At first glance. Maybe nothing about 16 00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:27,680 Speaker 1: the painting or the woman it depicts is notably out 17 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:31,679 Speaker 1: of the ordinary. If anything, the eye might be first 18 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:36,920 Speaker 1: drawn toward what the woman is wearing juxtaposed against a 19 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:41,759 Speaker 1: backdrop of muted brown foliage. The woman in the portrait, 20 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:48,040 Speaker 1: Lady Worsley, faces the viewer wearing a striking vermilion red 21 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 1: riding habit and satin white kitten heels. She stands with 22 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: her right foot peeking forward, her left hand perched on 23 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: her hip in a gesture that intentional powerful. Even this 24 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:08,480 Speaker 1: is not a woman wearing bright red who shrinks into 25 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:12,680 Speaker 1: the background, especially not if the writing crop in her 26 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:16,919 Speaker 1: right hand has anything to say about it. The lapels 27 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:20,400 Speaker 1: and sleeve cuffs of her jacket are lined with a 28 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:24,959 Speaker 1: deep navy trim and white button detailing, akin to an 29 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 1: eighteenth century British military uniform. It's an artistic choice which 30 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,960 Speaker 1: may on its own seem peculiar, but only until the 31 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: viewer understands that this portrait is one in a set 32 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 1: of two. There is a matching portrait of the woman's husband, 33 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: Sir Richard Worsley, in a similar red British military uniform. 34 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:54,080 Speaker 1: But anyone coming to Harewood House in hopes of comparing 35 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:58,639 Speaker 1: the two paintings side by side will be sorely disappointed. 36 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: In fact, the two paintings have not been in the 37 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:08,360 Speaker 1: same room in well over two hundred years. Mirroring the 38 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: dismal relationship of their real life counterparts. In truth, the 39 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: primary reason anyone these days really remembers the woman in 40 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: the portrait is because she was the subject of one 41 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 1: of the most infamous sex scandals of the eighteenth century. 42 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:33,519 Speaker 1: The papers would accuse Lady Worsley of having sexual relations 43 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: with upwards of twenty seven men, but it wasn't the 44 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 1: men who caused the scandal so much as it was 45 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:45,920 Speaker 1: who had asked them to appear in court to testify 46 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: in the first place. On this podcast, it's a rare 47 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: day that I get to tell a story before the 48 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 1: twentieth century, or frankly even after it, in which a 49 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 1: woman has any sort of control over her own life. 50 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 1: Ord for women to hold any power in a society 51 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 1: that essentially considered them property. But in the case of 52 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 1: Lady Worsley, when her husband chose to sue her lover 53 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:16,279 Speaker 1: to attempt to bankrupt him, her husband could never have 54 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:21,480 Speaker 1: imagined that his wife would choose to rather orchestrate her 55 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:26,400 Speaker 1: own social ruin than watch him take even one more 56 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: piece of happiness away from her. When looking at her 57 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:34,719 Speaker 1: portrait and Harewood House, it's easy to read into Lady 58 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:39,719 Speaker 1: Worseley's red dress and riding crop as cheap symbols of 59 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:46,039 Speaker 1: sexuality that perhaps further carve the metaphorical scarlet a into 60 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:50,159 Speaker 1: her legacy. But you can also see a woman dressed 61 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 1: for battle, waiting for her moment. In her uniform, she 62 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:59,599 Speaker 1: faces the viewer head on the hand on her hip, 63 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:04,920 Speaker 1: almost challenging us, as if she's saying, if I'm going down, 64 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: then I'm taking you down with me. I'm Dana Schwartz, 65 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:25,839 Speaker 1: and this is noble blood. From an early age, it 66 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:31,039 Speaker 1: was clear Richard Worsley was never destined for greatness. The 67 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: Worsley family may have owned the Eppoldercombe estate in the 68 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:38,840 Speaker 1: Isle of Wight, but the Worseley name had long since 69 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:44,520 Speaker 1: slipped into social obscurity. They may have enjoyed political prominence 70 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:49,360 Speaker 1: sometime around the early seventeenth century, but by the mid 71 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:53,600 Speaker 1: eighteenth they were characterized as little more than a family 72 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:59,679 Speaker 1: of uncultured country bumpkins, another mindless vote for the Tory Party. 73 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: One anonymous source described the family as quote never having 74 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:10,440 Speaker 1: been remarkable for producing either heroes or conjurers. It's an 75 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:14,440 Speaker 1: opinion which seemed to have extended to the newest Baronet 76 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:20,040 Speaker 1: of Apoldercombe. As a teenager, Young Richard Worseley's schoolmates had 77 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:23,920 Speaker 1: taken to calling him Dick Tardy due to the lengths 78 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: in which he consistently quote lagged so far behind, and 79 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:33,200 Speaker 1: unfortunately for him, it seemed as if this name would 80 00:06:33,279 --> 00:06:36,919 Speaker 1: become a self fulfilling property. When it came time for 81 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:40,120 Speaker 1: him to court a wife. As is the case for 82 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 1: most average men, Sir Richard Worseley was convinced he deserved 83 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:49,599 Speaker 1: nothing less than the absolute best, which is why in 84 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:54,000 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy two Worseley made it clear that he would 85 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:57,200 Speaker 1: make none other than Jane Fleming his wife by the 86 00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: year's end. If you're a fan of the net Flow 87 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:03,760 Speaker 1: show Bridgerton, Jane Fleming would have been what they described 88 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 1: as the diamond of the season. The elder of the 89 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:11,000 Speaker 1: two daughters born to Sir John and Lady Jane Fleming, 90 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 1: the younger Jane was a pinnacle of late eighteenth century femininity. 91 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:21,200 Speaker 1: Her delicate, almost ethereal beauty was only accentuated by the 92 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 1: effortless grace she carried herself with, inspiring some to describe 93 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:30,600 Speaker 1: her as quote an ornament to her sex. The eager 94 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:35,320 Speaker 1: eyes of society gossips watched closely as she charmed her 95 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 1: way through London's most elite circles. They were all keen 96 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:44,720 Speaker 1: to see exactly who would win over the coveted Jane Fleming, 97 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:49,560 Speaker 1: especially since rumor had it that her heart came with 98 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 1: the attached incentive of a whopping seventy thousand pound inheritance. 99 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:59,640 Speaker 1: In reality, the Fleming sisters were each given an inheritance 100 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:04,800 Speaker 1: of about fifty two thousand pounds, but considering that translates 101 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:09,680 Speaker 1: to around sixty six million pounds to day, that's more 102 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:13,880 Speaker 1: than a sizeable amount for any bride in London society. 103 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:18,920 Speaker 1: In any case, Sir Richard Worsley had his heart set 104 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:22,840 Speaker 1: on Jane Fleming and was convinced he was quote to 105 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:27,320 Speaker 1: marry her in five months, or he would have had 106 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:33,480 Speaker 1: Jane Fleming been at all interested in accepting his proposal. Unfortunately, 107 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:38,000 Speaker 1: for our Dick Tardy, even after a summer spent flaunting 108 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:41,679 Speaker 1: his title and sizable fortune at the elder Fleming's sister, 109 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:48,200 Speaker 1: his infatuation was decidedly one sided. But that didn't mean 110 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:52,800 Speaker 1: he would come away entirely empty handed. If Jane Fleming 111 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:58,079 Speaker 1: was the season's diamond, then her younger sister, Seymour, was 112 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:02,880 Speaker 1: something more along the lines of courts. Where Jane was 113 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:09,320 Speaker 1: poise and grace, Seymour was blunt and unyielding, comparatively plain 114 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:14,040 Speaker 1: and not especially bookish. The younger Fleming daughter was once 115 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:20,760 Speaker 1: chastised for quote, possessing more forwardness than discretion, which earned 116 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:24,839 Speaker 1: her a reputation that may have proved entertaining at parties, 117 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 1: but was decidedly less than desirable on the marriage market. 118 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:33,840 Speaker 1: In the end, Seymour may have been the less sparkly 119 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:36,760 Speaker 1: of the two sisters, but she did come with the 120 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:42,920 Speaker 1: same absurdly sized inheritance, a detail Sir Richard Worsley was 121 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,480 Speaker 1: all too aware of when he began courting the young 122 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:51,760 Speaker 1: Seymour just three years after his fixation on Jane, with 123 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:55,720 Speaker 1: one friend assessing that his interest was likely built upon 124 00:09:55,840 --> 00:10:01,400 Speaker 1: the noblest foundations of quote, love and eighty thousand pounds. 125 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:06,600 Speaker 1: Their nuptials in September seventeen seventy five made them the 126 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:11,160 Speaker 1: talk of London's high society, but behind the closed doors 127 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:14,480 Speaker 1: of the Oppoldercomba estate, the two were little more than 128 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:19,880 Speaker 1: strangers who occasionally shared a bed. Richard had budding political 129 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:24,920 Speaker 1: aspirations meaning he often found himself traveling between London and 130 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:28,040 Speaker 1: his home on the Isle of Wight, leaving little time 131 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:32,360 Speaker 1: or energy to spend on his new wife. And yet, 132 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:36,360 Speaker 1: even with his sparse attentions, in August of the following year, 133 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:39,920 Speaker 1: Seymour managed to give Richard an heir in the form 134 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:43,800 Speaker 1: of their son, Robert Edwin. And while the birth of 135 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:48,640 Speaker 1: their first child, a son, was cause for celebration, it 136 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:53,320 Speaker 1: was also the final nail in the sexual coffin, so 137 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:57,959 Speaker 1: to say, for Richard and Seymour's marriage. With an air 138 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:02,000 Speaker 1: secured for the worsely line, the two had little reason 139 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:08,280 Speaker 1: to continue any of the extracurricular activities their marriage once required. Instead, 140 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:12,920 Speaker 1: Richard made himself busy with his political aspirations, and Seymour 141 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:17,360 Speaker 1: quickly found herself immersed in the height of London's late 142 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:24,280 Speaker 1: eighteenth century social scene, the Devonshire House Circle. Now, if 143 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:28,280 Speaker 1: you are a frequent listener of this podcast, you may 144 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:32,400 Speaker 1: remember our two part series on the Duchess of Devonshire, 145 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:37,720 Speaker 1: Georgiana Cavendish and yes, I promise that is how she 146 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:41,320 Speaker 1: pronounced her name. But in case you need a recap, 147 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:44,920 Speaker 1: allow me to quickly summarize the ins and out of 148 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:48,520 Speaker 1: the Duchess and her elite circle of friends. By the 149 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:53,199 Speaker 1: late seventeen seventies, approximately one hundred people made up the 150 00:11:53,240 --> 00:11:56,720 Speaker 1: core of what was known as the Devonshire House Circle. 151 00:11:57,120 --> 00:12:02,000 Speaker 1: The mixture of artists, politicians and aristocrats all gathered at 152 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:06,120 Speaker 1: Devonshire House for parties and political events under the guise 153 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:11,480 Speaker 1: of exchanging intelligent conversation, only to have most nights and 154 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:17,360 Speaker 1: in various stages of drunken debauchery, while several lifetimes worth 155 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:22,720 Speaker 1: of riches were inevitably lost to the gambling tables. But 156 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:25,960 Speaker 1: the circle was more than just affront for parading the 157 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 1: latest fashions or campaigning for parliament behind closed doors. The 158 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:36,439 Speaker 1: prim and proper ladies and gentlemen of London's most titled 159 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 1: houses used the circle as, let's say, a sexual playground. 160 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:48,400 Speaker 1: Within the Devonshire House Circle, affairs were almost commonplace, with 161 00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:53,480 Speaker 1: partners essentially playing musical chairs to see whose bed they 162 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:57,360 Speaker 1: would be ending up in that evening. Adultery may have 163 00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:02,120 Speaker 1: been illegal, but the laissez faire attitude regarding sex and 164 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:07,520 Speaker 1: sexuality within the circle emboldened many to experiment with friends. 165 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:12,320 Speaker 1: It was a mentality which lent itself well to Seymour 166 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:15,880 Speaker 1: Worseley upon meeting her neighbor in the Isle of Wight, 167 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:21,640 Speaker 1: a man named Maurice George Bissett, at twenty three years old. 168 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:25,040 Speaker 1: Bisset came to the Isle of Wight after he inherited 169 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:28,840 Speaker 1: the estate only four miles from the Worsleys, and he 170 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:33,359 Speaker 1: wasted no time in befriending the married couple. It's impossible 171 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:37,840 Speaker 1: to say exactly when the affair between Seymour and Bisset began, 172 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:42,040 Speaker 1: but by the end of September seventeen eighty the pair 173 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:48,040 Speaker 1: had become inseparable. Richard, always looking to strengthen his political capital, 174 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:52,679 Speaker 1: often invited Basset to campaign events and parties at his home, 175 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:57,520 Speaker 1: and while her husband schmoothed his peers for political gain, 176 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:01,240 Speaker 1: Seymour took it upon herself to make sure that their 177 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:06,360 Speaker 1: newest acquaintance was well taken care of. Now, I think 178 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:10,840 Speaker 1: it's important to note that despite his unfortunate and hilarious 179 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:15,800 Speaker 1: nickname Dick Tardy, Richard Worsley wasn't an idiot. He may 180 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:19,080 Speaker 1: have had singular mind when it came to his political career, 181 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:23,520 Speaker 1: but he couldn't ignore the overwhelming attention that Bessett gave 182 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:28,560 Speaker 1: his wife and vice versa, especially not when, despite the 183 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:30,840 Speaker 1: fact that he and his wife had not shared a 184 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:35,520 Speaker 1: bed for months, there was an unmistakable swell to Seymour's 185 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 1: stomach in the early months of seventeen eighty one. There are, 186 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:43,320 Speaker 1: of course, a number of reactions one might have when 187 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:49,920 Speaker 1: discovering one's wife is pregnant with another man's child, anger, separation, exile. 188 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:53,840 Speaker 1: By eighteenth century standards, any of those would have been 189 00:14:53,880 --> 00:15:00,480 Speaker 1: considered acceptable consequences to an illegitimate pregnancy, But Richard Worsley, 190 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:04,640 Speaker 1: generous man that he was, chose instead to give his 191 00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:09,920 Speaker 1: wife's lover a job, specifically a captain's commission for the 192 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:15,280 Speaker 1: Southampton Militia, a position which conveniently meant he would be 193 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:19,240 Speaker 1: traveling with him and his wife for the majority of 194 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:24,080 Speaker 1: the following year as they visited encampments of soldiers training 195 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:28,800 Speaker 1: to be sent overseas. The fact that Worseley was not 196 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:32,640 Speaker 1: only willing to pass the child off as his own, 197 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:37,560 Speaker 1: but then secured Beset's travel and lodgings during his travels 198 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:41,200 Speaker 1: with his wife residing within the same home as him 199 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 1: and Seymour, gives us a pretty good idea that he 200 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:48,880 Speaker 1: knew about the affair. It would be during that summer 201 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:52,600 Speaker 1: that not only the Devonshire House circle, but also Worsley's 202 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:58,080 Speaker 1: own staff would be watching the three with barely disguised fascination, 203 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:04,600 Speaker 1: questioning exactly how their dynamic worked behind closed doors. But 204 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:09,160 Speaker 1: come fall, when the rain and chilling autumn weather made 205 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:13,720 Speaker 1: it impossible to continue their travels, the happy little bubble 206 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:17,880 Speaker 1: that the trio had been living in that summer abruptly popped. 207 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:23,680 Speaker 1: For Worsely, the departure from the militia affected him very little. 208 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:28,120 Speaker 1: He had his political aspirations to keep him occupied. But 209 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:31,960 Speaker 1: for Seymour and Beset, the two lovers, who had grown 210 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 1: accustomed to waking up under the same roof and spending 211 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:38,720 Speaker 1: time together as a new family with their newborn daughter, 212 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:43,480 Speaker 1: the new distant between them proved to be too much. 213 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:49,160 Speaker 1: After barely more than a month of separation, Bissett unveiled 214 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:53,760 Speaker 1: his plan to Seymour, and on the evening of November nineteenth, 215 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:57,720 Speaker 1: seventeen eighty one, the two rode off into the night 216 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:02,040 Speaker 1: to Elope, throwing caution to the wind and hoping that 217 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:06,399 Speaker 1: come mourning Richard Worseley would not stand in their way. 218 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:12,840 Speaker 1: While he may have been alright with his wife's adultery 219 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:17,119 Speaker 1: Under his own roof, Worsley apparently took issue with his 220 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:19,919 Speaker 1: wife and her lover, running off to a lope in 221 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:23,600 Speaker 1: the middle of the night. After the no doubt initial 222 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:26,520 Speaker 1: wave of rage had passed and he was no longer 223 00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:29,760 Speaker 1: banging down the doors of every residence he thought his 224 00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:33,520 Speaker 1: wife might be in, Worsley sat down to consider his 225 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:38,080 Speaker 1: next steps. Now, before we go any further into the story, 226 00:17:38,359 --> 00:17:41,720 Speaker 1: I want to take a second to explain the illegal 227 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:46,960 Speaker 1: act known as quote criminal conversation For those of you 228 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:51,200 Speaker 1: who don't spend your free time looking up eighteenth century 229 00:17:51,359 --> 00:17:57,280 Speaker 1: legal terminology, criminal conversation or krim con if you're cool 230 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:01,360 Speaker 1: and in the know, is essentially the legal catch all 231 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:05,960 Speaker 1: term for crimes of adultery, as women in this time 232 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:08,879 Speaker 1: were still seen as all but property in the eyes 233 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:11,920 Speaker 1: of the law. If a wife cheated on her husband, 234 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:15,880 Speaker 1: he could then act as a plaintiff and sue his 235 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:20,760 Speaker 1: wife's lover for would basically boil down to property damage 236 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:26,080 Speaker 1: and they say romance is dead. Well, Richard Worsley, now 237 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:30,640 Speaker 1: stewing in his estate alone following the betrayal of his wife, 238 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:33,439 Speaker 1: and what he had considered to be his best friend, 239 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:36,639 Speaker 1: who he had been nothing but generous to. Saw no 240 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:40,760 Speaker 1: other option than to take legal action in order to 241 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:45,320 Speaker 1: take back what he saw as rightfully his. During this time, 242 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:50,680 Speaker 1: typical criminal conversation cases could ask the defendant for anything 243 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:55,440 Speaker 1: from ten to fifteen thousand pounds in damages, but Worseley 244 00:18:55,680 --> 00:18:59,479 Speaker 1: was determined to teach Bissett and his wife a lesson. 245 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:04,520 Speaker 1: When Beset was served his papers, he was horrified to 246 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:09,280 Speaker 1: find Worsely was suing him for twenty thousand pounds, the 247 00:19:09,359 --> 00:19:13,240 Speaker 1: equivalent of more than two point five million pounds to day. 248 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:17,600 Speaker 1: Faced with a future of debtors, prison, or life on 249 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:22,280 Speaker 1: the run, Seymour and Beset were forced to rethink their options. 250 00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:28,200 Speaker 1: Seymour's sizeable inheritance now belonged to her husband, and should 251 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:32,280 Speaker 1: he lose this case, without Beset to support her, she 252 00:19:32,359 --> 00:19:35,800 Speaker 1: would be left all but destitute. There were more than 253 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:40,240 Speaker 1: enough witnesses to confirm their affair, but Seymour was done 254 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:45,479 Speaker 1: letting her husband dictate her happiness, and so, with nothing 255 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:50,280 Speaker 1: but pen and paper, Seymour decided that if her husband 256 00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:53,240 Speaker 1: was set to blow up her life, she was going 257 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:57,000 Speaker 1: to give herself the pleasure of striking the match to 258 00:19:57,080 --> 00:20:01,960 Speaker 1: do it. On the more warning of February twenty first, 259 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:07,080 Speaker 1: seventeen eighty two, the Worseley versus Beset trial began in earnest. 260 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:12,360 Speaker 1: Worsley's team predictably came forward with overwhelming evidence of Beset 261 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:17,680 Speaker 1: and Seymour's affair, but to the prosecution's surprise, the defense 262 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:22,479 Speaker 1: didn't seem at all bothered by their impending loss. It 263 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:26,280 Speaker 1: was only when Beset and Seymour's fate seemed all but 264 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:32,240 Speaker 1: sealed that the defense came forward with their actual strategy. 265 00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:35,840 Speaker 1: With what I imagined to be a smug glint in 266 00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:40,040 Speaker 1: his eye, the lead defense lawyer turned to the court 267 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:46,479 Speaker 1: and unveiled the defense's secret weapon, the defamation of Lady 268 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:53,040 Speaker 1: Seymour Worseley. He began quote, The licentious conduct of Lady 269 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:57,320 Speaker 1: Worseley was so notorious that it had been the subject 270 00:20:57,359 --> 00:21:01,399 Speaker 1: of common conversation. Ladies of distinction in the Isle of 271 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:05,879 Speaker 1: Wight had frequently remonstrated with Sir Richard on the subject, 272 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:08,680 Speaker 1: and told him that if he did not attempt to 273 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:13,040 Speaker 1: restrain her conduct, her character would be ruined and destroyed. 274 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:17,840 Speaker 1: End quote. It was with this framework that the defense 275 00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:23,600 Speaker 1: finally laid out their argument. In the defense's estimation, Richard 276 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:29,000 Speaker 1: Worseley had been adequately warned to contain his wife's leude behavior, 277 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:34,680 Speaker 1: but refused to do so because quote Lady Worseley liked it. 278 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:39,520 Speaker 1: But not only did the defense accuse Richard Worseley of 279 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:43,359 Speaker 1: allowing his wife to live her life of depravity, but 280 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:47,280 Speaker 1: they went on to accuse her of consorting with quote 281 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:53,159 Speaker 1: many prior connections, so many por quote connections in fact, 282 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:58,399 Speaker 1: that quote the idea of seduction by the present defendant 283 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:04,639 Speaker 1: was totally done away. In essence, the defense was rather 284 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:08,920 Speaker 1: than attempt to defend the overwhelming evidence of Besett and 285 00:22:09,119 --> 00:22:13,560 Speaker 1: Seymour's affair, they would seek to prove that Lady Worseley 286 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:17,280 Speaker 1: had taken so many lovers over the course of her 287 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:21,480 Speaker 1: and Sir Richard Worseley's marriage that there was no feasible 288 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:25,320 Speaker 1: way that the damages incurred by their elopement could be 289 00:22:25,359 --> 00:22:29,399 Speaker 1: equal to twenty thousand pounds. It was then that the 290 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:34,360 Speaker 1: defense called the first of their requested twenty seven witnesses 291 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:38,800 Speaker 1: up to the stand, and Richard Worseley began to see 292 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:45,000 Speaker 1: his undoing. The first witness was a gentleman named George 293 00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:49,440 Speaker 1: William Coventry, also known as the Viscount Deerhurst. The Viscount 294 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:52,359 Speaker 1: first became acquainted with the Worseleys in the fall of 295 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:57,320 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy nine, following the unexpected passing of his wife. 296 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:02,680 Speaker 1: Vicount Deerhurst was inconsolable, that is, until he was introduced 297 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:06,120 Speaker 1: to the baronet and his wife. It was at this 298 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:11,439 Speaker 1: point that Sir Richard Worseley was undoubtedly sweating in his seat, 299 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:15,679 Speaker 1: for he knew exactly which bombshell the defense was about 300 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:20,840 Speaker 1: to lay on the courtroom floor. Upon visiting their estate 301 00:23:21,040 --> 00:23:24,760 Speaker 1: in the Isle of Wight, the Viscount recalled a conversation 302 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:28,160 Speaker 1: he had with Worseley in which he made him an 303 00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:33,520 Speaker 1: unforgettable proposition in regards to his wife. He did then 304 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:37,640 Speaker 1: say that many young men had tried her to no effect, 305 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:41,159 Speaker 1: and that I had his permission to try my chance 306 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:47,159 Speaker 1: with her. End chaos rippled in whispers throughout the courtroom 307 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:51,679 Speaker 1: as the gravity of this statement sank in and the 308 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:57,520 Speaker 1: truth about Sir Richard Worseley's sexual proclivities began to come 309 00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:01,840 Speaker 1: to light. Even though rich and his wife Seymour had 310 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:06,480 Speaker 1: not shared a bed in years, Richard found sexual pleasure 311 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:12,200 Speaker 1: in their marriage by watching seymour bed other men. Remember 312 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:15,800 Speaker 1: how Worseley was fine with Seymour and Beset having their 313 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:19,880 Speaker 1: affair so long as it was under his roof. Well, 314 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 1: Bissett was hardly the first when it came to that 315 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 1: peculiar arrangement. According to the Viscount, at first he thought 316 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:33,240 Speaker 1: it was a joke, and Quote took it in a laugh. Eventually, though, 317 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:37,800 Speaker 1: during his stay at Appoldercombe, Viscount Dearhurst did find his 318 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:42,320 Speaker 1: way into Seymour's bed, only to find a most unexpected 319 00:24:42,359 --> 00:24:45,960 Speaker 1: surprise when he ventured out of her bedchamber in the 320 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:49,959 Speaker 1: early hours of the morning. Being careful so as to 321 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 1: not wake the rest of the house, the Viscount stumbled 322 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:59,040 Speaker 1: into none other than Sir Richard Worseley himself. The Viscount 323 00:24:59,119 --> 00:25:03,520 Speaker 1: recalled quote, he found me in her dressing chamber adjacent 324 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:06,520 Speaker 1: to her bed chamber at four o'clock in the morning, 325 00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:11,000 Speaker 1: at which point he remembered Worseley scrambling saying, dear Hurst, 326 00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:15,480 Speaker 1: how came you here? It's likely that from Seymour's dressing 327 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:20,000 Speaker 1: room Worsely was watching the Viscount and his wife through 328 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:24,159 Speaker 1: the keyhole, if not simply deriving his pleasure from the 329 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:28,080 Speaker 1: unmistakable sounds that must have been coming from the other 330 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:30,760 Speaker 1: side of the door. I want to be clear, I 331 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:34,440 Speaker 1: do not mean to kink shame anyone. Whatever fully consenting 332 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:38,880 Speaker 1: adults decide to do behind closed doors is entirely their business. 333 00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:42,399 Speaker 1: But in the case of Richard Worseley trying to cash 334 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:46,439 Speaker 1: out twenty thousand pounds for an act he himself derived 335 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:49,960 Speaker 1: sexual pleasure from and convinced his friends to take part in, 336 00:25:50,359 --> 00:25:53,760 Speaker 1: because it then later resulted in the more public humiliation 337 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:57,959 Speaker 1: of his wife leaving him doesn't seem exactly above board. 338 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:04,480 Speaker 1: As they say, stupid games win stupid prizes. The next 339 00:26:04,520 --> 00:26:07,600 Speaker 1: witness for the defense was not a former lover, but 340 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:12,760 Speaker 1: Seymour's personal physician, doctor William Osborne. Like the majority of 341 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:17,080 Speaker 1: the twenty seven witnesses, Seymour called to slander her own reputation, 342 00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:21,880 Speaker 1: Osborne was hesitant to give his testimony. After all, he 343 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:25,160 Speaker 1: was a doctor and the privacy between a physician and 344 00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:29,320 Speaker 1: his patients was of the utmost importance, and with such 345 00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:33,119 Speaker 1: a high profile case being covered in the gossip rags 346 00:26:33,119 --> 00:26:35,640 Speaker 1: for all of London to see, he had his own 347 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:39,280 Speaker 1: client base to think about. But Seymour was clear in 348 00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:42,719 Speaker 1: her letter to quote, make a point of attending and 349 00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:46,359 Speaker 1: declare everything you know of me end quote, which in 350 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:50,560 Speaker 1: the end is exactly what he did. When asked why 351 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:56,200 Speaker 1: he had been summoned in August seventeen eighty, the doctor replied, quote, 352 00:26:56,320 --> 00:27:00,479 Speaker 1: Lady Worsley had some complaints on her, which I fancy 353 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:05,120 Speaker 1: where the consequence of a venereal disorder. What was most 354 00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:08,520 Speaker 1: interesting about this diagnosis was that it was Seymour who 355 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:13,920 Speaker 1: had employed the doctor's services for treatment, not Richard Worseley. Additionally, 356 00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:18,880 Speaker 1: Richard was not treated for the same or any venereal disorder. 357 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:24,520 Speaker 1: The final witness was, despite their low societal position, perhaps 358 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:28,560 Speaker 1: the most important for the defense. Mary Marriott was a 359 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:33,400 Speaker 1: bathing woman who worked in Maidstone, one of the places Seymour, 360 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:37,840 Speaker 1: Bassett and Richard Worseley had stayed during their blissful summer 361 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:41,920 Speaker 1: in seventeen eighty one. It was there that Mary Marriott 362 00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:46,200 Speaker 1: witnessed the moment that would prove to ultimately be Sir 363 00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:51,480 Speaker 1: Richard Worseley's downfall. According to the bathing woman, she had 364 00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:56,120 Speaker 1: seen Seymour, beset and Worseley more than once, as Seymour 365 00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:58,360 Speaker 1: used to come to the bathhouse, and the men would 366 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:03,280 Speaker 1: usually accompany her. The men would typically stand outside as 367 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:07,000 Speaker 1: she bathed, but on one occasion, as Seymour began to 368 00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:11,920 Speaker 1: get dressed after her bath, Mary witnessed something quite different. 369 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:16,240 Speaker 1: A knock at the door alerted the undressed Seymour and 370 00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:19,920 Speaker 1: the bathing woman to Richard at the door, who excitedly 371 00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:23,800 Speaker 1: told his wife Seymour, Seymour, Besett is going to get 372 00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:27,920 Speaker 1: up to look at you. Moments later, from a high window, 373 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:32,000 Speaker 1: George Basett was seen smiling down at the two women. 374 00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:36,159 Speaker 1: This alone was rather damning, but the window in question 375 00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:39,320 Speaker 1: was so close to the room's ceiling that it would 376 00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:42,719 Speaker 1: have been impossible for Beset to have reached it to 377 00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:46,800 Speaker 1: look down at the scene without assistance, meaning Richard Worseley 378 00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:50,560 Speaker 1: gave him a boost, likely having him sit on his 379 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:54,360 Speaker 1: shoulders in order for Beset to get a better view. 380 00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:59,640 Speaker 1: With this final piece of evidence, after an hour of deliberation, 381 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:04,960 Speaker 1: the jury finally came to a verdict. With the irrefutable 382 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:09,280 Speaker 1: evidence presented by the prosecution, Maurice George Bissett was found 383 00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:13,320 Speaker 1: guilty of his adultery, but when the court read out 384 00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:17,959 Speaker 1: what Worsley should be owed in damages for his wife's virtue. 385 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:23,040 Speaker 1: It was not twenty thousand pounds, for they felt the 386 00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:28,480 Speaker 1: evidence told them what his wife's virtue was worth one shilling, 387 00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:33,040 Speaker 1: and with the strike of a gavel, Seymour bested her 388 00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:39,320 Speaker 1: husband and in turn ruined her own life. Quote Your 389 00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:43,600 Speaker 1: ladyship has not only proved yourself an utter enemy to 390 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:49,200 Speaker 1: all amorous monopoly, but to every species of smuggling whatever. 391 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:53,680 Speaker 1: For your wares have always been laid open to every 392 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:58,160 Speaker 1: fair trader, and as fairly entered in the custom house 393 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:03,720 Speaker 1: of Venus end. Quote This passage from a satire titled 394 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:07,840 Speaker 1: The Whim or the Maidstone Bath, and I'd like to 395 00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:11,200 Speaker 1: point out that there are three exclamation points after the 396 00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:15,600 Speaker 1: word Whim. Was just one of the many cutting pieces 397 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:20,200 Speaker 1: written about Seymour Worsley's character following the verdict of what 398 00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:23,160 Speaker 1: would come to be known as one of the most 399 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:29,880 Speaker 1: notorious criminal conversation trials of the eighteenth century. Predictably, even 400 00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:33,080 Speaker 1: though she technically won the case against her husband in 401 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:37,200 Speaker 1: terms of revenge, Seymour was cast out as a social 402 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:43,400 Speaker 1: pariah amongst London society. Even the Devonshire House circle, known 403 00:30:43,560 --> 00:30:48,000 Speaker 1: for their sexual liberty, couldn't condone the presence of such 404 00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:52,720 Speaker 1: scandal amongst their ranks. They did, after all, have the 405 00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:56,640 Speaker 1: goods sent not to air their dirty laundry for the 406 00:30:56,640 --> 00:31:00,880 Speaker 1: whole of England to see. To make matters worse, in 407 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:04,360 Speaker 1: the ultimate petty move, even in the wake of his 408 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:09,640 Speaker 1: humiliation in court, Worsley refused to grant Seymour a divorce. 409 00:31:10,280 --> 00:31:13,280 Speaker 1: This meant that not only could she not move on 410 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:18,000 Speaker 1: with her life and marry Beset, but her inheritance continued 411 00:31:18,040 --> 00:31:21,720 Speaker 1: to remain in the hands of her husband, and Bissett, 412 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:25,520 Speaker 1: with his name dragged through the mud and his property 413 00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:29,520 Speaker 1: in the Isle of Wight, his only feasible legacy, needed 414 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:34,360 Speaker 1: to have a wife to bear legitimate children, and so 415 00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:38,560 Speaker 1: barely a year after she had committed herself to social 416 00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:42,960 Speaker 1: ruin and life as a pariah in high society, George 417 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:49,680 Speaker 1: Bisett left Seymour in seventeen eighty three, after being abandoned 418 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:54,360 Speaker 1: by her lover and vehemently refusing to return to her husband. 419 00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:58,160 Speaker 1: Seymour was forced to live off the meager stipend her 420 00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:01,680 Speaker 1: marriage provided her, but even then, through the years she 421 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:04,760 Speaker 1: would ultimately have to take on lovers who could care 422 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:08,400 Speaker 1: for her financially. In order to keep her debt collectors 423 00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:12,200 Speaker 1: at bay. It wouldn't be until eighteen o five, when 424 00:32:12,320 --> 00:32:16,920 Speaker 1: Richard Worsley died, that Seymour would at long last be 425 00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:21,400 Speaker 1: granted her freedom. At the age of forty seven, Seymour 426 00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:25,240 Speaker 1: finally gained back her inheritance and took back her maiden 427 00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:29,400 Speaker 1: name Fleming. After years of living under the thumb of 428 00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:32,960 Speaker 1: a man she despised, and free to live her life 429 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:38,200 Speaker 1: as she chose, Seymour Fleming decided to celebrate her newfound 430 00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:42,160 Speaker 1: freedom by marrying her lover, a twenty six year old 431 00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:47,200 Speaker 1: Swiss musician named John Louis Hummel. You have to admire 432 00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:50,760 Speaker 1: a woman who, after over two decades of being labeled 433 00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:54,280 Speaker 1: as a harlot by high society, goes and marries a 434 00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:57,960 Speaker 1: man twenty one years her junior at the first opportunity, 435 00:32:58,560 --> 00:33:01,080 Speaker 1: which brings us back to the portraits of the woman 436 00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:05,600 Speaker 1: in red at Harewood House. History likes to remember Seymour 437 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:09,440 Speaker 1: Fleming in the context of her infidelity, but in looking 438 00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:12,920 Speaker 1: at her portrait, you can't help but look into the 439 00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:17,440 Speaker 1: face of the woman behind it. The woman, upon knowing 440 00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:21,080 Speaker 1: that she was damned, decided to pick up a pen 441 00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:25,040 Speaker 1: and paper and prove to the world that no one 442 00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:38,640 Speaker 1: but she would determine her worth. That was the scandalous 443 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:42,800 Speaker 1: life of Seymour Fleming. But stick around after the sponsor 444 00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:46,480 Speaker 1: break to hear a little bit more about Seymour's second 445 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:59,280 Speaker 1: marriage after the death of her first husband. It seems 446 00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:02,840 Speaker 1: counterin intuitive that Seymour Fleming would be so willing to 447 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:07,040 Speaker 1: jump into another marriage so soon after winning back her 448 00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:11,080 Speaker 1: inheritance and made a name. Well, as it turns out, 449 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:14,880 Speaker 1: she would not have to part with the latter. In fact, 450 00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:18,080 Speaker 1: the twenty six year old Swiss musician John Louis Hummel 451 00:34:18,680 --> 00:34:23,480 Speaker 1: ended up taking Seymour's last name, becoming John Louis Fleming. 452 00:34:24,160 --> 00:34:28,120 Speaker 1: The two remained happily married until Seymour's death in eighteen 453 00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:32,319 Speaker 1: eighteen at the age of sixty. John Louis kept his 454 00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:36,279 Speaker 1: late wife's name even when he decided to remarry a 455 00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:39,520 Speaker 1: year and a half after her death. Together, he and 456 00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:43,360 Speaker 1: his new wife had a daughter, who they named Cesareen Fleming. 457 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:49,120 Speaker 1: Many speculated that the younger man married Seymour for her inheritance, 458 00:34:49,719 --> 00:34:54,080 Speaker 1: but even after her death, John Louis Fleming continued to 459 00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:58,280 Speaker 1: honor her legacy, and when he finally passed in eighteen 460 00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:01,840 Speaker 1: thirty six his f His final request was to be 461 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:07,920 Speaker 1: buried next to his quote dearly beloved wife, Lady Seymour Plumbing. 462 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:27,239 Speaker 1: Noble Blood is a production of iHeart Radio and Grim 463 00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:30,759 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted by 464 00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:35,400 Speaker 1: me Dana Schwartz. Additional writing and researching done by Hannah Johnston, 465 00:35:35,719 --> 00:35:40,239 Speaker 1: hannah's Wick, Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, and Lori Goodman. The 466 00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:44,440 Speaker 1: show is produced by rima Il Kayali, with supervising producer 467 00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:49,200 Speaker 1: Josh Thain and executive producers Aaron Manke, Alex Williams, and 468 00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:54,600 Speaker 1: Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 469 00:35:54,880 --> 00:36:02,640 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.