According to the History of Parliament online, Brydges "had secured his fortune at the expense of what remained of his reputation by marriage to the notorious Countess of Shrewsbury, the former lover of the 2nd Duke of Buckingham, a domestic rearrangement which entailed his bringing an action in the court of arches for jactitation of marriage against his own previous mistress, .... with whom he had evidently cohabited for some years. The Countess paid £4,500 to buy him a place as groom of the bedchamber."
