7. A Hellish Marriage
Mary Bowes was moved by the “dying” Stoney’s romantic appeal. Figuring that the marriage would only last a few hours before her new husband died, she agreed to wed Captain Stoney, who was carried down the aisle on a stretcher. Soon after the vows were exchanged and the ceremony concluded, Stoney made a miraculous recovery. In those days, husbands had the right to control their wives’ finances, but Stoney discovered that a prenuptial agreement stood in the way. Undaunted, he forced Mary to revoke the prenuptial and hand control of her fortune over to him.
Stoney then began squandering Mary’s wealth like a drunken sailor on shore leave, and kept her a prisoner in their home. Now that she was his lawful wife, Stoney abandoned all prior efforts at getting Mary to fall in love with him. Over the next eight years, he made her life a living hell, abusing her physically and emotionally, while raping and impregnating her maids. He also brought prostitutes home, carried on numerous consensual affairs, and fathered a brood of illegitimate children in the process.