In high society, women may not have had a voice, but they must have had a great deal of stamina. During the London Season, Lady Margaret’s day might begin around nine with a ride in the park. The day’s invitations would be sorted through after this, and any domestic business taken care of, orders given to servants, menus planned, and the dreaded seating arrangements finalized if a dinner party was in the offing. Another change of clothes and a shopping trip might follow, then another change of clothes for tea, then another change of clothes before the ritual evening promenade at Hyde Park. Life was about seeing and being seen. Another toilette and then dinner, followed perhaps by a ball or three, the amount of time spent at each determined by the prestige of the hosts, and then bed at around three in the morning. Lady Margaret’s dance card would have been supervised by her mother, who would also have been instrumental in shepherding suitable men towards her and keeping the unsuitable ones at bay. From Lady Margaret’s debut to the announcement of her betrothal, she would have had almost no say in the process. No wonder she rebelled.

Lady Margaret was irrepressible in an age when women from all walks of life had very few legal rights, and almost no say in their destiny. Unfortunately, the stark contrast in Victorian society between the lives of the rich and the poor as depicted in my book was not exaggerated and was all too real. Whether Lady Margaret was in Lambeth, Dublin, or Five Points in New York, the poverty and deprivation she encountered first hand was both shocking and widespread.

She was acutely aware of how privileged she was, but also of the price she was expected to pay to remain in polite society circles. Ultimately, she chose not to pay it. To sticklers like her father, the duke, she was something of a horror. I love the Christmas scene at Dalkeith Palace at the very end of the book, where she catches him looking at her, wondering what on earth he’s done to deserve such a daughter who keeps coming back for more, still smiling, still very much her own person.

After an adventurous life, she did indeed find happiness and settled down with Donald Cameron at Achnacarry, where they raised four sons. A conventional outcome? Yes, but one chosen by a very unconventional woman for her own reasons, on her own terms.

I hope you have enjoyed this little peek behind the curtain into the life and times of my heroine and that I’ve given you an insight into the world she inhabited. Her journey is complete. Mine as an author, I hope, is only just beginning.

Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott in her bridesmaid’s dress for the wedding of HRH Princess Helena, March 10, 1863.

(Used by kind permission of Donald Cameron, 27th Lochiel)

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