Lord Stornaway is the husband of Mary Crawford's friend Flora Ross, though they haven't been close for the past three years, possibly because Lady Stornaway jilted a man in the Royal Horse Guards for Lord Stornaway.
Mary at first describes Lord Stornaway as unpleasant, senseless, and unattractive, but as her stay in London progresses, she changes her mind about him, considering that he might be more pleasant around his own family and admitting that there are many worse-looking people.