FOR THE BELEAGUERED MAJ. RONALD FERGUSON, it must have felt like standing in a field of cow pies. Mortified when it was revealed in 1988 that he had been spotted at a London massage parlor, he seemed to be again behaving himself, until—on the heels of his daughter's split with Prince Andrew in March—it was revealed that the very married major had heartaches of his own. The London tabloids have been working overtime on the emerging story of his alleged affair with 33-year-old Lesley Player, a businesswoman with connections to the polo crowd.
The tabs have published the contents of what they claim were answering-machine messages and notes in which the major, 59, declared his passion for Player. According to the papers, one handwritten card said, "I had almost given up on love until you came into my life."
Citing an assistant to Player as its source, the News of the World says that Player wearied of the major after several months but exploited his connection to Fergie, promising potential customers that the York-lets—daughters Bea, 3, and Eugenie, 2—would model the kiddie togs that Player markets. "She was always saying, 'The major said this, the major said that,' and how sweet he was to her," the assistant claimed of Player. "She didn't leave much to the imagination."
So far there has been no public response from Susan Ferguson, 45, the major's wife of 16 years and mother of their three children—Eliza, 6, Alice, 11, and Andrew, 14. Some observers see the major's latest reported misstep as a typical peccadillo among the horsey set. (The major's first wife, Fergie's mother, ran off with a polo player in 1974.)
Meanwhile, Fergie herself (with her daughters, a nanny and two bodyguards in tow) was leading the press on an extended chase through the South Pacific. Officially due back in Britain this week, the Duchess might just turn to Player for consolation. "We're good friends," Player has said. "She puts a lot of rust in me."
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