Free Scandalous Women: The Lives and Loves of History's Most Notorious Women by Elizabeth Mahon Page A

Jane would visit him at his flat on Harley Street, wearing a veil to hide her identity, but before long they became reckless. She was seen by a neighbor in Schwarzenberg’s embrace, the prince lacing up her stays. Soon the gossip about them was so flagrant that Schwarzenberg was sent packing back to the continent before his career was totally ruined.
    When Jane realized she was pregnant, she decided to risk everything by joining her lover on the continent. Her parents pleaded with her to at least attempt to repair her relationship with her husband. Her father, in particular, tried to impress upon her what she was giving up by leaving him to go abroad. If she stayed in England, and they formally separated, she could still take her place in society after a suitable amount of time. But Jane was not to be denied. As far as she was concerned, her life and her fate lay with the prince. He was the only man she wanted to be married to.
    When Ellenborough found out about the affair, he decided that the only hope he had of maintaining his career and saving his honor was to divorce her. The divorce case was so sensational that for the first time, the Times of London featured the story on its front page instead of among the classified advertisements that were a mainstay of the paper until the 1960s. Despite the fact that he was the “innocent party,” Ellenborough was chastised for allowing his wife to associate with “undesirable persons.” In exchange for Jane not introducing evidence of his own indiscretion in court, Lord Ellenborough settled a generous sum on her for the rest of her life.
    While the divorce proceeded in England, Jane gave birth to Schwarzenberg’s daughter. The prince soon proved to have feet of clay. Schwarzenberg’s family was adamant that he break up with her. The family was Catholic and marriage to a now notorious divorcée would be ruinous. Realizing that he was out of his depth and fearing for his career, Schwarzenberg left her for good.
    On the rebound, Jane fled to Munich and into the arms of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who was captivated like many men before him by her beauty and intelligence. Her portrait joined the pantheon of other beautiful women in his “Gallery of Beauties.” She also caught the attention of Baron Karl von Venningen-Üllner, who worshipped her and pursued her relentlessly while she pined for Felix. After months of rebuffing him in the hopes that Felix would return to her, she finally succumbed to his attentions and promptly became pregnant. Although she didn’t love Karl, Jane succumbed to pressure from her parents, the baron, and the king to get married, but not before giving her daughter by Schwarzenberg to his sister, where she grew up with no memory or knowledge of her beautiful mother.
    For a time she was content, but her husband wanted to turn her into a German hausfrau in the country, while Jane was lively and intelligent and loved parties. Even a second baby couldn’t tie Jane down. At a ball, during Oktoberfest, Jane met a young Greek count named Spiridon Theotoky, who awakened her sleeping passion. He was young and carefree, the antithesis of her sober and conservative husband. When the lovers tried to elope, her husband followed them and challenged the count to a duel. Although Theotoky was wounded, he managed to survive. Despite his hurt and humiliation Karl generously agreed to release Jane from their marriage. He received custody of their children, and he and Jane stayed friends for the rest of her life.
    Jane moved to Greece and married her count, converting to the Greek Orthodox faith. They had a child, Leonidas, who became Jane’s favorite, the only one of her five children that she felt any affection for. It seemed as if Jane had finally met her soul mate, until the family moved to Athens and Spiridon began drinking and spending his nights out. After fifteen years together, she discovered that not only was he unfaithful, but he was also stealing from her