Many romance readers complain about what they see as “unequal” relationships in which one party seems too dependent upon the other or is taken advantage of by the other. In A Worthy Opponent, Louise Bergin sets a self-avowed gold digging lady of the gentry class against a wealthy Cit and explores what happens as they find themselves evenly matched.

Judith Shelton is a 25-year-old spinster who lives in the country with her younger sister Sarah and their Aunt Tillie. The distant relative who is nominally the head of the family couldn’t care less about them and sends barely enough money to make ends meet. Since Tillie is growing older and they lack the funds to give Sarah a London Season so she can marry and be cared for, Judith worries about what will become of her family as they all grow older.

When Judith learns that Viscount Westfall is staying in his country home nearby, she decides to take matters into her own hands to ensure her family’s security. She knows that the Viscount races his horses daily on the road near his house, so she decides to go walking there. Her plan is to spook the horse, thereby obliging the Viscount to help her in the ensuing confusion and then call upon her later to check on her well-being. Judith will then make sure to attract his attention and, hopefully, win an invitation to his home. Ultimately, Judith’s goal is to marry the Viscount and, therefore, ensure her sister and aunt’s futures.

Judith’s scheme does not go quite as she planned. She manages to spook the Viscount’s horse, but the nobleman is not alone in coming to her rescue. Riding with him is Mr. Peregrine Campion, a wealthy nabob who is the Viscount’s business partner and friend. Peregrine is quite observant and quickly decides that Judith is not all that she seems. He makes this known to Judith, and the two of them find themselves at odds thereafter. However, it quickly becomes apparent that each of them are bright, determined, and intrigued by their worthy sparring partners.

Judith and Peregrine are the ones who make this story work. The rituals of country life and house party machinations will be familiar – perhaps overly familiar – to any Regency Romance reader. However, the conversations between Judith and Peregrine really make this book stand out. Through their words and gestures, the reader sees each of them starting off suspicious of one another, then grudgingly respectful, and so on until they actually become friendly sparring partners.

This book also works because the growth in the characters is not one-sided. As Judith and Peregrine interact, we get to see many layers of both characters emerging, as well as the affect each revelation of one party’s character has on the other. In this respect, the hero and heroine are more three-dimensional than most and the reader sees the relationship between them growing and changing. They fall in love based not upon looks or because one sees the other as “good”. Instead, each one expresses a whole host of reasons for their attraction.

In contrast to the well-drawn hero and heroine, the secondary characters seemed much too flat and scenes involving them dragged a bit as a result. In addition, there is a slightly off-putting twist to the plot at the end that just seems a bit too abrupt. Still, I enjoyed Judith and Peregrine so much that I stayed up late to finish their story, and was sad to see it end.