On the other hand, his position with the Blessingtons was daily growing more difficult.  People had begun to talk of the almost open relations between Count d’Orsay and Lady Blessington.  Lord Byron, in a letter written to the countess, spoke to her openly and in a playful way of “Your D’Orsay.”  The manners and morals of the time were decidedly irregular; yet sooner or later the earl was sure to gain some hint of what every one was saying.  Therefore, much against his real desire, yet in order to shelter his relations with Lady Blessington, D’Orsay agreed to the marriage with Lady Harriet, who was only fifteen years of age.

This made the intimacy between D’Orsay and the Blessingtons appear to be not unusual; but, as a matter of fact, the marriage was no marriage.  The unattractive girl who had become a bride merely to hide the indiscretions of her stepmother was left entirely to herself; while the whole family, returning to London, made their home together in Seymour Place.

Could D’Orsay have foreseen the future he would never have done what must always seem an act so utterly unworthy of him.  For within two years Lord Blessington fell ill and died.  Had not D’Orsay been married he would now have been free to marry Lady Blessington.  As it was, he was bound fast to her stepdaughter; and since at that time there was no divorce court in England, and since he had no reason for seeking a divorce, he was obliged to live on through many years in a most ambiguous situation.  He did, however, separate himself from his childish bride; and, having done so, he openly took up his residence with Lady Blessington at Gore House.  By this time, however, the companionship of the two had received a sort of general sanction, and in that easy-going age most people took it as a matter of course.

The two were now quite free to live precisely as they would.  Lady Blessington became extravagantly happy, and Count d’Orsay was accepted in London as an oracle of fashion.  Every one was eager to visit Gore House, and there they received all the notable men of the time.  The improvidence of Lady Blessington, however, was in no respect diminished.  She lived upon her jointure, recklessly spending capital as well as interest, and gathering under her roof a rare museum of artistic works, from jewels and curios up to magnificent pictures and beautiful statuary.

D’Orsay had sufficient self-respect not to live upon the money that had come to Lady Blessington from her husband.  He was a skilful painter, and he practised his art in a professional way.  His portrait of the Duke of Wellington was preferred by that famous soldier to any other that had been made of him.  The Iron Duke was, in fact, a frequent visitor at Gore House, and he had a very high opinion of Count d’Orsay.  Lady Blessington herself engaged in writing novels of “high life,” some of which were very popular in their day.  But of all that she wrote there remains only one book which is of permanent value—­her Conversations with Lord Byron, a very valuable contribution to our knowledge of the brilliant poet.