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She cocked her head. “Is that a waltz? You know we’ve never danced before.”
“Then we shall remedy that immediately. We’ll waltz before all of society and they won’t know where to look.” He took her hand to lead her inside. “Let’s give them something to talk about.”
EPILOGUE
Regency Duke Still A Scandal After All These Years
The Times
17 May 1976
London—Drawings of a naked man hidden in a nineteenth-century picture frame are believed to be of Leopold Halton, the sixth Duke of Dammerton, who inherited his title during England’s Regency era.
The set of drawings was found during restoration of a painting depicting a mermaid with a shipwrecked sailor. The painting, found hidden in an attic, was painted by the duke’s second wife, Juno, Duchess of Dammerton.
The drawings were found by art historian Dr. Elizabeth Cranston, who says she had been seeking Juno’s mermaid painting for many years.
“The duke mentions the mermaid in his journals, but it had never been found,” Dr. Cranston said. “Their descendants probably hid it during the more restrictive Victorian era, given its unashamed portrayal of female desire by a female artist.”
Before her marriage, the duchess, Juno Bell, was an artist working in London. She sparked a scandal in the art world when it was revealed that she painted nudes, which was forbidden for women at the time, Dr. Cranston said.
Notable for his colorful clothing and generous patronage of the decorative arts, Leopold Halton also worked up an impressive list of scandals. He made an impulsive marriage at age twenty-one, later divorcing his wife for adultery, making him one of the very few divorced men in England at the time. He also brawled in public and famously fought two duels in a single day, one of which was with his own half-brother. Following the duels, he was jilted by his respectable fiancée, before he eloped to Scotland with Juno Bell.
“He really was a one-man scandal,” Dr. Cranston said. “And judging by these racy drawings by his wife, he remained naughty well into his later years.”
Once married, the couple divided their time between Europe and London. The duchess continued to paint and exhibit after their marriage, while using her new position to mentor young women. She is best known for her painting titledHades and Persephone Duel with Flowers, a gift to her husband on their tenth anniversary. It is said that the two imps in the painting represent their two children. The painting forms part of the collection at the Tate Gallery in London.
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