The rival in her husband's attentions was Lady
Elizabeth Foster, daughter of the Earl of Bristol, a brunette of
handsome presence, and at the death of Georgiana, in 1806, she became
the second wife of the Duke. There was an apparent friendship between
the ladies, and Lady Elizabeth for a time lived under the same roof as
the Duchess.
Madame d'Arblay, in 1791, visited her at Bath, and made record then of
her introduction to the Duchess, and indicated the premonition of
trouble in this wise. "Presently followed two ladies; Lady Spencer,
with a look and manner warmly announcing pleasure in what she was
doing, then introduced me to the first of them, saying, 'Duchess of
Devonshire, Miss Burney.' She made me a very civil compliment upon
hoping my health was recovering; and Lady Spencer then, slightly, and
as if unavoidably, said, 'Lady Elizabeth Foster.'" Gibbon said of the
latter, that, "No man could withstand her; and that if she chose to
beckon the Lord Chancellor from his woolsack, in full sight of the
world, he could not resist obedience." Reynolds painted a portrait of
her, showing a bright-eyed, smiling lady, with close-curled hair, of
girlish appearance. In Samuel Rogers's "Table Talk" are several
mentions of the famous Georgiana, and especially one which tells of
her love for gambling. "Gaming was the rage during her day; she
indulged in it, and was made miserable by her debts.
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