Mary Eleanor Bowes, the widowed Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, was engaged to her lover, George Gray, in the summer of 1776 when she met the outwardly charming but wily Anglo-Irish adventurer, Andrew Robinson Stoney, who manipulated his way into her household (using the governess of the children, Eliza Planta) and her bed. Calling himself "Captain Stoney" – although he was, in reality, a lieutenant in the British Army – he insisted on fighting a duel in Mary's honour with the editor of The Morning Post newspaper which had published scurrilous articles about her private life. In fact, he had himself written the articles that criticised her, as well as those defending her; and the duel between Stoney and the newspaper's editor was probably staged.
In 1776 during the summer, Mary Eleanor Bowes, the widowed Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, was engaged to George Gray when she encountered Andrew Robinson Stoney, an outwardly charming but astute Anglo-Irish adventurer who entered her household (via Eliza Planta, the governess) and bed. Claiming to be "Captain Stoney," he insisted on a duel with The Morning Post newspaper editor over defamatory articles about her private life. It turned out that Stoney had written both the critical and defending articles himself; thus, the duel between him and the newspaper's editor might have been staged.