Loretta Wentworth

Loretta Wentworth (nee Lewis) was the mother of the Wentworth children and wife of Ernest Wentworth.

## Familial Information

### Children

* Linden Wentworth

- Rose Wentworth
- Marigold Wentworth
- Iris Wentworth
- Magnolia Wentworth
- Dahlia Wentworth
- Daisy Wentworth
- Orchid Wentworth
- Gardenia Wentworth

### Siblings

* Richard Lewis
* Orlando Lewis
* Nicholas Lewis

### Parents

* Giovanna Lewis (Mother)
* Arthur Lewis (Father)

### Grandparents

* Giovanna Torlonia (Maternal Grandmother)
* Cesare Torlonia (Paternal Grandfather)

## History

### Early Life

Loretta was born in 1768 to Sir Arthur Lewis and Lady Giovanna Lewis. She had two older brothers named Richard and Orlando and a younger brother named Nicholas.

She has Italian heritage from her mother Giovanna. Her father Arthur was a world traveler and met Giovanna while staying in Rome, and the two eloped against the wishes of her parents.

### 1785

When she was twenty-three she began a courtship with Lord Ernest Wentworth, Earl of Clare. They would marry that year.

### 1786

Loretta gave birth to her first child, a son she named Linden, in 1786.

Ernest, a commander in the Royal Fleet, was often away on duty, having little time to spend with his wife and young son.

### 1791

Her husband retired from the navy after being injured during the Third Anglo-Mysore War, and afterwards they had Rose, the first of their many daughters.

### 1792

Almost 11 months after having Rose, Loretta would give birth to her third child. Inspired by her love of flowers, she named the child Marigold to go with Rose and Linden (also flower names) and decided to keep the pattern for any subsequent daughters.

### 1793

In the autumn of 1793 she gave birth to Iris, her third daughter.

### 1794

She gave birth to her fourth daughter and fifth child, Magnolia.

### 1797

On the first of May she gave birth to twin daughters, Dahlia and Daisy. The women of ton began a secret betting pool on the possibility of the Wentworths having a second son.

### 1799

At age 31 Loretta had her eighth child, another girl that she named Orchid. It was said when news of the new baby girl spread, numerous arguments broke out in clubs across town.

### 1801

While Loretta was nearing the end of her pregnancy with her ninth child, she attended a private summer picnic with her husband Ernest, her sister-in-law Marianne, and Marianne's husband Lawrence at Clare Castle. The couples decided to take a boat ride on the large pond on the property Ernest used for fishing. While on the water the boat scraped on a log that had fallen in from a previous storm. In the panic the boat capsized, sending everyone in the water. Loretta was struggling due to her water-logged clothes and her pregnancy. Ernest ordered Lawrence to get Loretta to the shore, as he was being dragged under by his sister Marianne.

Lawrence managed to help Loretta swim to the shore, but during the chaos she ended up going into labor. On the shore of the pond, she ended up delivering her eight child with the help of Lawrence, unaware her husband and sister-in-law had drowned in the pond. She would end up dying from excessive bleeding and exhaustion. Lawrence rushed the baby to the house, and he and his niece would be the only ones to survive the accident.

## Personality

Loretta was a kind woman, albeit an absent mother. She was content to let the children be raised by servants and cared more about reading and collecting novels, and was obsessed with chivalric romances and King Arthur. She was a bit ditzy.