In 1892 Violet bore Harry’s daughter, later Lady Diana Cooper, whom she raised with the Marquis as his own. That year, William Waldorf Astor made Harry the editor of his Pall Mall Gazette. Attracting the best literary talent, Harry made the paper a great success. His relationship with Nina developed, encouraged by Violet, who saw it as providing cover for her and Harry.
A tangled web
Harry had fallen in love, however, with fellow Soul and future author Pamela Wyndham. In August 1893, before taking matters further, Harry finished with Nina. In September he was stunned to be told that she was pregnant. Violet took the matter out of Nina’s hands and consulted statesman Arthur Balfour, the Souls’ leading member. Balfour told Harry that if he did not marry Nina, they would be social outcasts; if he did, Balfour would ensure their marital path was made smoother.
Harry had to give up Pamela, and on 11 October 1893 he and Nina were married quietly at a London registry office. Very soon, however, it became clear that no child would be born. The real situation remains uncertain, although there are several possibilities.
Serpents
Whatever the truth, Nina insisted to Balfour that it was she who was to blame, seeking to avoid repercussions for Harry’s political career. Harry did not stand again for Stamford and instead was selected as candidate for North Manchester. But repercussions came from an unexpected quarter.
A suffragist heard gossip about Harry’s alleged treatment of Pamela and Nina and began a whispering campaign, seeking his resignation. Balfour told Harry he could sue for libel but advised that it was wiser to resign. Harry did so, thus avoiding embarrassment for the women. Although he was later elected MP for Bermondsey, the political heights he had been expected to reach would remain unscaled.
A modus vivendi
Harry is often accused of abandoning Nina after marriage, which is not the case: sexually he may have done, but socially they were often together. Their friends were drawn from the cream of public and creative life. Intellectually, they were ideally matched. From their first London house, St James’s Lodge, Nina reviewed books for the Pall Mall Gazette during Harry’s editorship. Her first was Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy, one of many literary giants they knew.
Creativity
Despite the physical frailty to which Nina was prone, it did not stop her working. In 1897 her sketch of a child’s head was accepted by London’s New Gallery. Her status as artist was acknowledged in Alexander Fisher’s enamel painting of 1898 which is inscribed 'Nina Cust the artist'.