Spenser's brush with death makes him realize one thing. The young girl he married is now a seductive beauty, but Emma's open hostility has him confused. He probes for answers and learns that his wife has every right to despise him. The monies allotted for the running of Kellsworth were stopped when he was off fighting in the Napoleonic War. The letters he sent to Emma and hers to him were never delivered. Now, it's up to him to find out who is embezzling from the estate and who is trying to wreck his marriage.

Ms. Perkins grasp of the regency period, the sensual love scenes and the almost to the last page of whodunit makes The Marriage Bargain a wonderful read. Spence's confusion as to why Emma is incensed is touching as well as humbling. Emma's growing love for Spence is well done and believable. Secondary characters, Blake and Wolfe who are heroic as Spence's comrades in arms, deserve a love story of their own.