The Marriage Contract is the last in the "Marriage" trilogy.
I think I liked this one the most.
Anne, with no future prospects, and with her Aunt and Uncle ready to be rid of her, marries by proxy. All she has to do is produce an heir and she will inherit a nice fortune.
However, she must travel to Scotland to meet and inform her new husband that they are married.
If you read the previous installment in the the trilogy, you will recall that Leah was supposed to marry Aiden by arrangement. But, Aiden was rumored to be quite mad and Leah flat out refused to marry him.
When Anne arrives in Scotland, she finds Aiden to be quite sane, intelligent and very attractive. But he also doesn't want a wife.
Aiden is in a political jam. He is English, but has Scottish roots. He is a Laird and feels for the people of Scotland, but tries to do nothing that would be considered treason.
At the same time Aiden tries to do everything he can think of to get Anne to give up on the marriage and go back to England.
The only complaint I had about this one was the timing of the consumation. That just didn't seem the right time or place . Also, the plan to run Anne off by giving her duties that would disgust her and wear her out, has been done several times over in regency historical romances. Other than that, I really enjoyed the entire trilogy. I'm looking forward to more Cathy Maxwell novels in the future. ( )

This is a fun romance novel to read. Not great literature and very obvious but fun none the less. ( )

Anne is married to Aidan by proxy in London. Aidan hasn't been to London in years. He left as a young man to search out his Scottish roots. Not only is he a titled gentleman in London but also a Laird of a Scottish clan. Living as a Scotsman for so many years he has no desire to ever go back. He becomes mixed up in the rebellion against England and is unsure of how to handle that. In the meantime Anne shows up and proclaims to be his wife. She shows him the marriage contract signed by his sister in London. Aidan not only does not want a wife but her presence is dangerous for his clan's rebellious plot. He decides to make life so miserable for Anne that she will want to leave on her own. Anne is stubborn and fights to stay.

I liked the character of Anne and understood her development well. Aidan's character had some gaps. It was never fully explained why he left London and why he would never return. As much as he is enjoying his life as a Laird he seems to have doubts as to the rebellion and seems to suddenly switch gears towards the end. ( )