Elizabeth Rannie, also known as Elizabeth Rennie, (1750–1847) was a British noblewoman who was married to Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, and was mother to Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville. Early life Elizabeth was born in Calcutta around 1750. Her father, David Rannie, was a Captain in the British merchant service, and amassed a considerable fortune in India. Her mother was Elizabeth Bayley. A younger sister, Janet, was born around 1753. In 1760, with the fortune amassed through 30 years of trading with the East India Company in Calcutta, her father purchased Melville Castle. In November 1764 her father died, aged 48, leaving the estate and a considerable dowry to Elizabeth, then aged 13 or 14, and her younger sister Janet. Her sister married Archibald Cockburn in 1768. Marriage to Dundas On 16 August 1765, Elizabeth Rannie and Henry Dundas were married; she was 14 years old, and he was 24. Through the union, Dundas acquired the Melville castle and estate, and her fortune; these represented almost all of his wealth. Her £10,000 fortune was lost by Dundas through an investment in Douglas, Heron & Company, also known as the Ayr Bank, which crashed in 1772. Numerous Scottish land owners were bankrupted in the collapse. Melville castle was mortgaged as a result of the misinvestment, and the countess and family impoverished. Dundas also had income through work with the corporation of Edinburgh and the Church of Scotland, as well as legal work. In 1766 he was appointed solicitor-general for Scotland. Rannie and Dundas lived between Edinburgh, where they lived at 5 George Square, Edinburgh, and Melville Castle. Rannie and Dundas had four children: Elizabeth, born in May 1766, died in 1852. Married her first cousin, Robert Dundas of Arniston. Anne, born in September 1768, died in 1852. Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville, born in Edinburgh on 14 March 1771. Only son and heir to Dundas and the title. Inherited Melville Castle upon death of Henry Dundas in 1811. Died in 1851. Montague, born in April 1772, died in 1837. Her portrait was painted by David Martin in 1770; it now belongs to National Galleries Scotland. Affair and divorce In October 1778, Rannie took a 10 day tour around East Lothian, stopping to attend a ball at the house of Mr Colt of Aldhame and Hon Mrs Helen Stewart in Musselburgh. Here she was discovered, and later admitted via letter to