The Barkin Emeralds is presumably Nancy Butler’s last Signet Regency, as she’s moving on to larger single title romances. But though this may say Regency on the spine, it really doesn’t read like one. This is no comedy of manners or ton drama. It takes place on a small island in the Hebrides, and the focus is on the hero and heroine – who spend a lot of time alone together. And though the sensuality never progresses beyond kisses, both main characters spend a lot of time wishing it did. This is really an historical romance in disguise.

Maggie Bonner is a lady’s companion charged with the unpleasant task of returning some valuable emeralds to Lord Barkin, her charge’s former fiancé. Alice Fescue was affianced to Lord Barkin, but opted to run off with a dashing captain instead. Maggie has little stomach for the task at hand, but if she doesn’t return the emeralds she has no hope of obtaining the good reference necessary to find a new job. En route to the remote Hebrides island where Barkin makes his home, Maggie’s boat is boarded by a dashing brigand, and the emeralds are stolen. The captain of her ship is curiously complacent about the whole affair, and Maggie finds out why when he drugs her and leaves her to regain consciousness on one of the islands.

When Maggie comes to, she struggles to walk toward civilization – and manages to fall into a large, rectangular ditch. She is rescued by MacGuigan, who happens to be the same man who robbed her of the emeralds. He is under the impression that she is Alice, the woman who’d been engaged to Lord Barkin. He plans to keep her captive on the island, forcing Barkin to pay a ransom and rescue the island from its impending financial ruin.

The rest of the plot is relatively complicated for a book of this length. Essentially, there are two competing islands in the Hebrides, one run by Lord Barkin, and the other by MacGuigan. Barkin holds a grudge against MacGuigan and believes that he is responsible for several atrocities. He has imposed an embargo on the island which makes it difficult for its citizens to trade or prosper. MacGuigan is trying to save the island any way he can, but is growing increasingly desperate. MacGuigan also has a cousin, Dorcas, who was once promised to Barkin but is now estranged from him as well. Maggie can quickly see that MacGuigan is not actually a blackguard, and it doesn’t take her long to become a fairly willing captive. She falls in love with him, and tries to think of ideas for the island’s economic development. Meanwhile, he’s falling in love with her as well, and is quite relieved to discover that she isn’t actually Barkin’s fiancé (though this discovery is painfully long in coming).

There’s actually even more going on here, including a paranormal element involving the island’s water (which has healing properties) and a common enemy who is feeding Barkin’s animosity for MacGuigan. Butler manages to juggle all these threads and keep the plot moving in a believable way, which suggests that she has a promising future writing single title romances. The one flaw with all this is that there is a lot going on, and not a whole lot of time for introspection. MacGuigan and Maggie spend a lot of time together, but it’s time doing. Both of them think about their romantic love for each other (and their physical desire) but there isn’t much time to act on those emotions.

Both the main characters are practical, likable people. It’s always refreshing to see characters who are struggling to overcome fairly difficult problems without giving in to fits of moping. MacGuigan is charismatic, and Maggie is a good match for him (she’s definitely not a doormat). My only problem with MacGuigan is difficult to discuss without wandering into spoiler territory, but it concerns the island’s leadership. MacGuigan is clearly in charge for all intents and purposes, but when Maggie repeatedly tries to ask who the laird of the island is, no one will give her a straight answer. When the answer is eventually revealed, it makes absolutely no sense.

That problem aside, this is a a relatively good read and a good bridge for Butler’s new career as an author of full-length historicals. I wouldn’t buy it looking for a traditional Regency Romance, but if you approach it as a Scottish historical with adventure and just a hint of the paranormal, you might find it to your liking. It’s a little light on the romance, but it’s entertaining nonetheless.