Affair sees end to exclusive business

It could come straight from the pages of a Jilly Cooper bonkbuster novel: a suave and urbane married executive in one of the country's leading estate agents embarks on a passionate affair with a colleague who, along with her husband, is a leading figure in the equestrian community. However, the fling falters when the lovers are sacked from their jobs.

But this is not fiction and the affair between the two senior staff members has shocked Strutt & Parker, the 120-year-old estate agents renowned for selling multi-million-pound properties to the country set.

The Sloane Street branch, just around the corner from Harrods, has been abuzz with gossip ever since branch manager Howard Elston was seen sharing intimate meals with his colleague Diana "Didi" Rowell.

Novice jockey Mrs Rowell, 44, was in charge of rental properties for the estate agents and held keys to the luxury houses and flats on the company's books. Rumours were rife that there may have been assignations at these properties, but the lovers vociferously deny this.

Nevertheless for four years the colleagues, both married, enjoyed cosy meals together at the salubrious Oriel's Brasserie in the heart of Chelsea and the nearby four-star Cadogan Hotel, where suites cost up to £350, according to one former employee at the estate agents.

It was a suitable choice as the Cadogan is itself no stranger to scandal. Actress Lillie Langtry bought the hotel to entertain her lover - the future King Edward VII, Queen Victoria's eldest son. Her friend Oscar Wilde, a frequent visitor, was also arrested there in 1895.

The ex-colleague described Mrs Rowell as "very flirty but stuck-up at times" and added: "Everyone in the office knew about her affair with Howard. They didn't really try to hide it. Both are very snobbish and act as if they are above everyone."

Mr Elston, father of two young boys, was saying nothing last night. After coming to the door of his £1million house in Wandsworth he said: "I'm not speaking to anyone else," and shut the door. Earlier he had reportedly admitted to the affair, saying: "I had an affair and made a mistake; my marriage is ruined and I have two young children. The affair is over now, but I have lost my job, I have lost my wife and I have lost my children."

However, the debonair Mr Elston denied that he and his lover are being made redundant because of the affair insisting that their contracts are not being renewed because they had not met their budgets.

The pair are separately seeking legal advice on their dismissals. Speaking in the courtyard outside her expansive country house in Pulborough, Sussex, which she once shared with her husband Johnny, Mrs Rowell confirmed that she and Mr Elston had been dismissed. Mrs Rowell, who last year was lead novice female rider in point-to-point in the South-East, said: "I am taking legal advice with a view to seeking compensation."

Yesterday she refused to say any more about the affair when she rode in the Ladies Open of the Southdown and Eridge Hunt at Godstone in Surrey, taking two of her own horses to third places.

But as she trotted into the winners' enclosure she spotted a photographer and indicated her annoyance by sticking her middle finger up at him. Her husband is said to have moved into a mews cottage in Pimlico while divorce papers are filed.

However, news of the affair came as a shock to Mr Elston's wife, Jamie. She said: "No I didn't know. I am his wife."