Rachel Lee

Rachel Fanny Antonina Lee or Rachel Fanny Antonina Dashwood (1770s – 1829) was a British alleged kidnap victim. Life Rachel Fanny Antonina Dashwood was the illegitimate daughter of Sir Francis Dashwood. Her father was Chancellor of the Exchequer and the notorious founder of the Hellfire Club. He gave her about £40,000 after she had been educated at a French convent. She was later reported to be "deplorably ignorant of English life and life universally". Dashwood lodged for a time with a Mrs. Gordon in Kensington Square, and met her two sons, Loudoun and Lockhart, when they returned on holiday from their boarding schools. She later married Matthew Lee in Scotland as she was under age. The attraction was said to be her husband's good looks but the marriage lasted less than two years. Mrs Lee went to live in Manchester, but she was in London in 1803 when she was kidnapped by - or went away with or eloped with - the two Gordon brothers. They had both graduated from Oxford University: Loudoun Harcourt was not rich while Lockhart was not only married but was employed as a clergyman. The circumstance of their journey together are disputed. The party of three was intercepted after concerns were raised by Lee's guardians, and Lee later sued them for her abduction. Loudoun was said to have visited her room in Gloucester, whereas Lee said that she was being threatened with a pistol.