Griffin Darrowby is thinks himself cold-hearted and scheming – after all, that’s what his father raised him to be. So when faced with bankruptcy, he makes a calculated decision: it’s time to woo and marry a rich widow. And that’s what might have happened, if he hadn’t stumbled over what he thought was a water sprite in the forest on the way to the rich widow’s country manner. Hours later, he finds himself wet, dirty, hungry, horseless, and held prisoner by the sprite’s greedy but somewhat dim brothers.

The sprite in question is Gates Underhill (short for Gates of Heaven, her unfortunate new name after her father got religion). While Pa is off preaching, Gates is left behind to fend for herself with her two criminal step-brothers and the disintegrating farm. When the brothers kidnap Griffin, they go too far. Gates frees him and flees the farm to try to be a servant at the nearby manor – the same one where Griffin is attempting to romance the rich widow.

In another author’s hands, the plot of The Bartered Heart could be too contrived or too cute, but Nancy Butler handles it quite well. Both Griffin and Gates are well-drawn and sympathetic characters. Griffin is the victim of selfish parents and a love-starved childhood, and contrasts nicely with Gates, also victimized by irresponsible parents but who remains generous and hopeful where Griffin is a somewhat bitter loner. He helps her find a better way in life than her class standing would otherwise allow; she helps him discover his heart and his capacity for love.

Unlike many Regency Romances, The Bartered Heart offers glimpses of several of the classes, not just the very wealthy, and the often unfair differences between classes is a major theme in the story. Through Gates, Griffin has his eyes opened to miseries that he previously simply did not see.

Butler also deftly handles a surprisingly large supporting cast and a number of subplots without letting any of them get in the way of the main story. The result is a story that moves swiftly from the first to last page.

My one complaint is a sudden and rather stupid “Big Misunderstanding” that surfaces late in the book. Both Griffin and Gates suddenly act uncharacteristically obtuse after being quite savvy with each other through the rest of the story. The two “sudden developments” that allow for the hero and heroine to wed without losing either fortune or class standing were obvious from early on as well.

Even if the ending of the book was a little too predictable, the journey was enjoyable, and The Bartered Heart is worth picking up if you are looking for a light Regency read.