of his hauteur and illicit liaison with her aunt. But Harriet’s opinion of him now improved. Though he had little wealth of his own, he was a leading member of society as part of the prominent Leveson-Gower family; his half-brother was the very rich Marquess of Stafford (later Duke of Sutherland). Additionally, the historian K. D. Reynolds writes that Granville was "considered one of the most handsome men of his time; his curly brown hair, blue eyes, and sensuous features brought him strings of female admirers". Though eager to leave Devonshire House, Harriet insisted that Granville's affair with her aunt be truly over. The prospective groom was unsure if he wanted the unglamorous Harriet as a marriage partner, however, and spent some time pursuing other candidates; their refusals, often due to his womanising reputation, led Granville to ultimately choose Harriet. They became engaged on 13 November 1809. The Duke provided his younger daughter with a dowry of £10,000 (), a relatively low sum compared to the nearly £30,000 () given to his illegitimate daughter Caroline St. Jules that same year. On 24 December 1809, Harriet married Granville in the drawing room of Chiswick House, an elegant London villa owned by her father. Social hostess Despite the unusual circumstances surrounding the marriage, Harriet and Granville’s letters reveal both were very happy. After a long and difficult labour, their eldest child Susan was born healthy. They would have five children in total – Susan (1810–1866), later the wife of the 4th Baron Rivers; Georgiana Fullerton (1812–1885), a novelist; Granville, 2nd Earl Granville (1815–1891), the future foreign secretary; William (1816–1833), who died young; and Frederick (1819–1907), a Liberal politician. They also adopted Harriet and George Stewart, Granville's two illegitimate children with Henrietta; the pair flourished in the happy household. The elder Harriet found her twelve-year-old step-daughter and cousin to be a "most amiable little creature", and the two would grow especially close in the years that followed. During their first few years together, the Leveson-Gowers split their time between London and the various country houses of friends and family. As neither brought significant wealth or an estate into the marriage, the smaller size of Harriet's dowry must have caused some disappointment; upon her father's death in 1811, her brother – now 6th Duke of Devonshire – quickly increased her settlement to £30,000. With this new income they were able to rent Tixall Hall