An elite affair

When Lillie Langtry's sister-in-law had an affair with a baron, private detective David Smith was put on the case

On 21 August 1877, in Pimlico, 26-year-old Clement Le Breton married teenager Alice Edwards. Clement was a Jersey-born barrister, and the brother of actress Lillie Langtry; his young wife was rumoured to be the illegitimate daughter of a viscount, born and bred in London. They settled in the capital, with their only child, Alice May, born there in 1881.

Lillie Langtry

The Le Bretons had many friends, but were particularly close to one couple: John Richard Brinsley Norton, the 5th Baron Grantley, and his American wife, Katharine. When Lord Grantley had married Katharine the same year as the Le Breton marriage, Clement Le Breton had acted as trustee under his friend's marriage settlement. The Grantleys, with their five surviving children (one other died soon after birth), spent regular time with the Le Bretons over the next couple of decades, and consoled the baron after Katharine died in 1898.

However, after Lord Grantley was widowed, he relied more and more on Alice Le Breton for comfort, with the pair becoming even closer. Clement was not concerned - he regarded himself as the lord's friend too - but in July 1898, things changed. Lord Grantley intended to go on a shooting trip to Scotland - he had a hunting lodge in Inverness-shire - and invited the Le Bretons to join him. Clement was unable to leave London, as he had law work to undertake, and he objected to Alice going without him, for propriety's sake. She, however, was adamant that she wanted to go, and eventually, she wore her husband down. He agreed, on condition that one of Lord Grantley's sisters would also be present, together with 17-year-old Alice May, and her governess.

Loch Quoich, Inverness-shire, by Alan Reid (used under creative commons). Lord Grantley had a shooting lodge in the county

The party duly left for Scotland. Clement was left behind, and soon after, his mother became ill, and he had to leave for Jersey, to see her. Eventually, he found out that Alice had lied - neither governess nor lord's sister was present in Scotland. Clement was very concerned about image, and was horrified at what people might think. He told his wife that she was not welcome back to their marital home.

In early October, Alice wrote to her husband, informing him that she was returning to London, but would be staying at the St Pancras Hotel. Le Breton soon tried to visit her, but she had lied again. Believing her to be in the city, he commissioned a private detective, David Smith - about whom I can find little out else about - to track her down.

Smith was able to confirm that  Alice was in London with Lord Grantley. His investigations showed that they had initially stayed at the First Avenue Hotel on High Holborn, under the names of Mr and Mrs Grey. Then they moved onto the Hotel Victoria on Northumberland Avenue. Lord Grantley stayed there, while, on 5 October, Alice checked-in to the Hotel Cecil on the Strand. She booked two rooms, a bedroom and an adjoining sitting room. Two days later, Lord Grantley turned up at the Hotel Cecil, and booked his own rooms in the  Cecil's 'bachelors' quarters', which were located in the south block of the hotel.

Hotel Cecil, on the left of this photochrom of London (Library of Congress)

While they were at the Hotel Cecil, David Smith carefully watched them. He noted that although they had their own rooms, they ate all their meals together, including breakfast in the hotel's dining room. They were constantly in each other's company, and on at least one occasion, Smith saw them both enter one of Alice's rooms - the bedroom, which was room 184.

David Smith noted that they were together at the Cecil for 'practically the whole of October'. His findings were sufficient: he reported back to his client, and Clement Le Breton duly filed for a divorce.

In court, neither Alice nor Lord Grantley defended the claims that they were having an affair. A decree nisi was issued in March 1899, and two months later, the couple married. Clement Le Breton never remarried; Lord and Lady Grantley appear to have been happy together, though, and their marriage lasted until their respective deaths in the early 1940s.