NAPLES, AUGUST 1823
William continued to be indiscreet, visiting the ravishing Mrs Bligh at every opportunity. Planning to leave Naples in the not too distant future, he felt confident that the affair would reach a natural conclusion and that when the time came he would be able to move on unscathed. William always ensured that his amours came and went with no lasting ties or repercussions. His obsession with Helena was similar to his passion for Mrs Kinnaird, but he had thought nothing of leaving Maria and his child behind in England without so much as a backward glance. On this occasion, Helena had other ideas and William was to get more than he bargained for.
With all the rumours circulating around Naples, Captain Bligh and his brother continued to demand that Helena stop all visits from Mr Long Wellesley. This was not unreasonable considering the circumstances but Helena became so violent and abusive that Edward took his wife and children and left the scene of the battle. He then went to fetch Mrs Maxwell, hoping that the sensible lady could offer counsel to his foolish sister-in-law. When Mrs Maxwell arrived at the Blighs’ house, Helena told her that she was going to leave her husband because she would not stay in a house where her friends were refused admittance. When pressed on the matter, Helena admitted that her husband only objected to one person, Mr Long Wellesley, who she described as her ‘best and only friend’. Mrs Maxwell pointed out that Captain Bligh’s reaction was understandable given the vicious rumours circulating; he was simply trying to protect his wife’s reputation.1
On 31 July, the very same evening as Mrs Maxwell’s visit, Helena left her house at six o’clock without consulting her husband or any other person. Two hours later, the minister William Drummond and other embassy staff spotted Helena at the gardens of Villa Reale, where an Austrian band played every evening. She was walking arm-in-arm with William in a secluded part of the shrubbery and although they kept their faces averted they were easily recognizable.
William was extremely anxious when he discovered that Helena had left her husband; his little fling had gone horribly wrong and she had put him in a terrible position. He’d had affairs in the past, but nobody had ever been foolish enough to decamp and cause a scandal. Most women had the sense to realize that he would never leave his wealthy wife and the comfortable lifestyle she provided, but Helena was naive enough to believe that he genuinely loved her. While they were walking, William made it clear that he disapproved of the step she had taken, saying it was ‘rash and injudicious’, while urging her in the most earnest manner to return to her husband’s house.2
Mrs Maxwell was sent to the gardens to retrieve Helena. Arriving in Mr Hamilton’s equipage, she tried to persuade Helena to get inside, assuring her that if she returned home she would be ‘very kindly received’. Stubborn, Helena refused to budge; when Mrs Maxwell returned without her, Captain Bligh ‘was much affected and wept’.3
William was also in a state of great agitation. On returning home he locked himself in his room with Meara, who noticed that his master looked very pale and dejected, white-lipped and with his mouth parched. Grabbing his valet by the arm, William said, ‘Meara, they are going to play hell with me! Mrs Bligh has left her husband and I am afraid that the groom and lady’s maid will bear witness against me. You must go to them at once, and pay them anything for their silence. The Blighs have not got a sous to offer them.’4
Not only was William’s relationship with Catherine at stake, but English law stipulated that it was illegal to have sex with another man’s wife. On returning to England, William could face charges for criminal intercourse, more commonly referred to as ‘criminal conversation’. Servants often provided vital evidence, especially if they had witnessed the parties in bed together. If he were found guilty, William would face severe penalties – Henry Wellesley was awarded an enormous £20,000 when Lord Paget eloped with his wife. Aside from the financial consequences, William did not want to face the social repercussions. He enjoyed celebrity; he had no desire to live on the outskirts of society as a penniless outcast.
With the dawning of a new day came fresh hope that Helena would come to her senses and return to her husband. In cases such as these it was common for family or friends to intervene, to try to persuade a couple to reconcile. With this in mind, William called on Helena at L’Isle Britannique Hôtel and recommended that she send for the British minister and Mrs Maxwell, to act as appeasers between her and Captain Bligh. For the sake of propriety, he also suggested that Helena should seek protection under Mrs Maxwell’s roof, advocating, ‘The more you are watched the better, and the more public all your conduct is the better.’5
Prior to leaving her husband, Helena had written to the Duke of Wellington asking for advice, but she had not waited for his reply before acting. Wellington’s marked commitment to Helena was evident when he wrote to Mr Hamilton at the embassy, ‘I am really most concerned for poor Mrs Bligh. My own acquaintance with her dates from the same period with that of your sister; and I felt a great interest for her.’6 On the subject of the separation Wellington wrote, ‘I earnestly urged her obedience to conciliate and to be reconciled to Captain Bligh; and I pointed out to her the uncomfortable situation in which she above all other women would find herself when in a state of separation from her husband.’7
The general consensus was that Helena should return home but, fighting off pressure from the highest quarters, she refused. Helena was granted ample opportunity to reconsider, but when news of the separation became generally known Captain Bligh did not want people to think him a fool. On 2 August, he took ‘legal measures to prevent trades people from giving her credit . . . and called at her hotel to inform them not to supply her with anything, for he would not be answerable for any debt she might contract’.8
Helena had left her husband in such haste she had not packed a bag or taken any of her belongings. Now she was also without credit, so in effect she was destitute in a foreign country far away from family and friends. When she appealed to Mrs Maxwell and Mr Hamilton, they told her to return to her husband. William also wanted Helena to go home, but he was concerned that if he did not comply with her wishes she would tell his wife everything. Helena had a passionate, unpredictable temperament that William usually found thrilling, but there was nothing enjoyable about the terrible scenes she was creating. Helena had shown herself to be stubborn, determined and deliberate – perhaps William had finally met his match. Appalled by the steps she had taken, William was in an intolerable position.
By now Naples was buzzing with the news that Mrs Bligh had eloped with Mr Long Wellesley. This was such a dangerous predicament for William that he felt the need to rush to a court to swear an affidavit in front of a judge proclaiming his innocence. The sworn statement was then posted to the Duke of Wellington in England because William believed that if criminal charges were ever brought against him it would help his case. Trying to vindicate himself further, William then scribbled a hasty note to Helena’s mother, Mrs Paterson:
Madam, I am sorry to write to you upon a subject, which must be painful to a mother. Most assuredly the step, which your daughter took of quitting her husband’s house, was very precipitate and ill-advised; however, her provocation was great . . . The Duke of Wellington is furnished with the documents necessary to prove your daughter’s innocence of crime.9
Blissfully unaware of all that had happened, Catherine went about her business, appearing in public smiling serenely. Concerned for her health, Dr Bulkeley called on William, advising him ‘in the strongest terms to be the first to break the news to his wife’.10 Recent experience with wilful Helena had caused William to think fondly of his sweet-natured, amenable wife. Promising to do everything in his power to preserve her peace of mind, William told Bulkeley on more than one occasion that Catherine was ‘a most excellent and amiable person’.11 Not wanting to ruin his marriage or his relationship with his wife, William realized that he would have to spin a very convincing yarn this time. But that was his speciality.
Never one to throw tantrums, Catherine listened quietly as William explained that there was no truth in the rumours circulating. Persuasive as ever, it did not take him very long to convince Catherine of his innocence, particularly as she was so susceptible to believing him. The circumstance that swung it completely for her was the fact that William had sworn an affidavit in court – surely he would never compromise himself unnecessarily by committing perjury?
Producing the affidavit, William went through the points with Catherine, insisting that he had nothing to hide. Speaking calmly, he said, ‘I have never visited Mrs Bligh but in an open manner. I have never seen her under any roof but her own, except in general society.’12 He also stated categorically that when Mrs Bligh confided her intention to quit her husband’s house, ‘I used all the persuasion within my power to prevent her from adopting such a step.’13 Nevertheless, he felt that she had endured immeasurable provocation, claiming, ‘I found her one morning in a flood of tears,’ because her husband had said she was ‘a whore, a bitch at heat . . . and that all the Wellesley family were whores, that she was a bastard of the family, that the Duke of Wellington was a rascal’.14 William even claimed that on one occasion Helena ‘suffered severely from a blow, which her husband had given her’.15
This type of language and violence would have been abhorrent to Catherine. Having damaged Captain Bligh’s reputation and made him look unhinged, William cunningly claimed that the allegations about his affair with Helena were entirely a figment of the captain’s sick mind. Speaking with tears in his eyes, he told Catherine that he hoped she would not listen to a word spoken by the treacherous madman who had destroyed his own marriage and was now trying to ruin theirs.
Describing the violent altercations that took place in the Bligh household, William said that both the captain and his brother mistreated Helena. Yelling the most violent menaces and words, they chased her ‘over two floors of the house to her bedroom, where she locked herself in, and from which she did not remove till they had left the house’. William went on to say that Mrs Bligh was so terrified she was resolved not to go home, although this would leave her penniless and ostracized from society.
William convinced her that Captain Bligh was a dangerous lunatic, a similar character to her stalker, Scott, who had harboured wild delusions, even attempting to murder William with a carving knife. Much of this story was a fabrication, but Catherine was horrified by all she had heard. Some time later she would comment, ‘I placed implicit confidence in his word, believing . . . that both Mr Long Wellesley and Mrs Bligh were most unjustly accused.’16 The part she found most shocking was that Helena had stated if she were forced to return to her husband, ‘he would drive her to an act of desperation’. To think that her friend had contemplated suicide dismayed soft-hearted Catherine.
The factor that really swung it for Catherine, however, was that William had sworn in the affidavit that Helena was his cousin, and Wellington had been sent a copy of the declaration. Catherine felt it was her duty to look after a family member in her time of need. After giving the matter some consideration she decided to call on Helena. In her own account of the meeting Catherine stated:
I called upon her at her lodgings, and found her in tears. She gave me a long account of the ill-usage she had received, and miseries she had endured under her husband’s roof . . . I most foolishly believed all she said. I told her I was come to offer her my protection until she had received answers from her friends in England . . . She then expressed herself in terms of the deepest gratitude to me, said, that after the unjust reports which had been circulated to her disadvantage, I was the last person in the world from whom she had any reason to expect to receive kindness.
Catherine was a charitable woman, always inclined to think the best of people. She hated to see Mrs Bligh destitute in a foreign country, far away from her family and friends. Without money or clothes, Helena desperately needed financial assistance and Catherine loaned her sufficient funds to cover immediate expenses. Offering protection to the other woman was characteristic of Catherine’s compassion and artlessness. In a brief note, Sir Richard Church commended her actions: ‘Your kind intentions towards [Mrs Bligh]; this act of kindness is equally creditable to your heart as to your judgement.’
By adopting this course it was Catherine’s intention to declare to the outside world that she trusted in her husband’s innocence. Polite but firm about how much protection she could extend, Catherine made it clear that the other woman could not reside under her roof, declaring, ‘had she been my own sister, I never would ask her to live any length of time entirely with us’. A compromise was reached; Catherine paid for Helena to move into lodgings very near to the Long Wellesley family home at the Cappella Vecchia.
Some days after the alleged elopement, Catherine sent a note filled with generosity and genuine concern:
My Dear Mrs Bligh, I am afraid I shall not be enabled to call upon you today, but tomorrow I hope to have that pleasure, and that you will drive out with me. If you do not dislike dining at my late hours, I shall be delighted if you will dine with me (Mr Long Wellesley dines with Sir William Drummond), and afterwards go with me to the Opera. Pray send me word how you are today.17
When Catherine offered support to Helena she fully expected it to be short term, because Colonel Paterson intended to travel to the continent to collect his disgraced daughter. The Duke of Wellington had also written to say that he was in contact with Helena, stating: ‘I will certainly advise her to go immediately to her father. This is the only step which can . . . put her in a respectable situation if separated, or can obtain for her any allowance from [Captain Bligh] or his family. Anything else must devote her to certain destruction.’18
With help on the way, Catherine felt duty-bound to protect Helena until her family arrived. In sharp contrast, Mrs Maxwell refused to have anything to do with Helena. True to form, William deemed Mrs Maxwell’s conduct ‘a singular instance of heartlessness and of her absolute abandonment of the Christian virtue, charity’.19
The British ambassador was among those to openly voice his disapproval, making it clear that Helena was not fit for decent society, having ‘left her husband’s house on the most frivolous pretences’.20 When Helena stated her intention to appear at the embassy to be presented to the king of Naples, Mr Hamilton wrote to her in no uncertain terms: ‘It is quite out of my power to present to his Majesty, a lady who only a few weeks ago thought fit publicly to leave her husband’s house and protection.’21 He warned that if she turned up on the night, ‘I shall certainly not hesitate to desire the servants not to admit you.’22
Taking exception to the slur, William besieged the minister with letters, causing Hamilton to write, ‘My dear Wellesley – it is really not worthwhile for you and me to carry on a paper war about trifles.’23 Unwilling to let the matter rest, William threatened legal action, accusing the ambassador of casting aspersions, ‘derogatory to the character of an English Gentleman . . . tending unjustly to criminate my character and conduct’. Full of bluster, William did not have a case because the ambassador had been careful not to implicate anyone else. Pointing this out, Hamilton observed, ‘I had only to look to the person in question, not to any other individual.’
The situation was getting out of hand, with hot-headed William growing more abusive, even suggesting that he would possibly issue a challenge to defend his honour. Undeterred by William’s bullying tactics, Hamilton refused to back down, asserting, ‘I can in no way alter or excuse Mrs Bligh’s conduct, and had I acted otherwise, I am confident that all the other English ladies who propose to go to Court on Tuesday next, would stay away.’
Hamilton had deduced why William was so zealous in his appeal – if Helena was admitted to the function it would be a public declaration that the British ambassador had excused her conduct. In turn, this would exonerate William. A man of principle, Hamilton was not prepared to compromise his values, determining in one final note, ‘It is indeed, high time that our correspondence on this unfortunate subject should terminate.’ True to his word, Hamilton could not be drawn into any further exchanges. Foolishly, however, William continued to slander the ambassador all over Naples until Hamilton eventually felt compelled to offer up evidence for public scrutiny. Some months later, the protracted exchanges that passed between them would be published in the press, vindicating the ambassador and damaging William’s reputation even further.
Double standards prevailed. While Helena was shamed and shunned by all, William was permitted to go about his business as usual, even boasting of his prowess in some quarters. The irony was that although William was quick to defend Helena in public, his private opinion was very different. Speaking candidly and confidentially to Dr Bulkeley, William complained bitterly about his mistress, calling her, ‘a lewd and abandoned woman, who had given herself up to the grossest gratification of her passion’.24