For twelve years she was a widow, and then she was married to Sir William Cavendish, who himself had been married twice before.

He was a Hertfordshire magnate, but the strong will of his new wife induced him to sell his estate in that county in order to provide money for another scheme she had in view.  It was the ambitious one of purchasing Chatsworth and building the magnificent mansion which tourists from all parts of the world find so much delight in visiting.  A house already existed at Chatsworth, but it was not pretentious enough for the squire’s daughter, and she prevailed upon her husband to have it demolished.  He had started to carry out her wishes when death overtook him, and Bess was a widow for the second time.

The new house at Chatsworth was not finished; but she had a penchant for building, and continued the work after his death till its completion.  There were three sons and three daughters of this marriage, concerning the future wedded lives of which there were deep schemes and plots.

Another courtier fell beneath her wiles in Sir William St. Loe, Captain of the Guard to Queen Elizabeth.  He was so enamoured of her that he endowed her with his estates, and disinherited his own kinsfolk.  Then he died, and Bess still went on conquering and to conquer.

Her fourth husband was the great prize of all, as far as rank was concerned, for he was none other than George Talbot, sixth Earl of Shrewsbury, one of whose seats at that time was Worksop Manor.

It was not Bess’s way to accept a suitor without a bargain being made, having ulterior objects.  The Earl had been married before, and had children, so that Bess insisted upon two other matrimonial matches before she would enter into the bonds of matrimony herself for the fourth time.

The stipulation was that her daughter, Mary Cavendish, should marry the Earl’s heir and his daughter was to marry her son.  These alliances were duly entered into, and brought with them new honours and additional wealth.  The building of Worksop Manor house had been commenced in the time of the first Earl of Shrewsbury, but was not finished when the new Countess became its mistress.  Having built Chatsworth, here was another opportunity for her to display her genius in architecture, and under her direction it was completed, and became a sumptuous residence.

The Earl must have been a nobleman of redoubtable and fearless disposition, or a courtier whose pliant will was easily moulded by accomplished and attractive women, else he would not have been involved in the feminine intrigues that he was.

Not only had he his imperious wife to consider, but he was appointed custodian of Mary Queen of Scots when that unhappy personage was under the ban of Queen Elizabeth and was sent prisoner to Worksop Manor.  She was kept strictly in durance vile, for the Earl was a rigid warder, and did not even allow her to walk in Sherwood Forest.