Reading The Errant Earl was the romance equivalent of sitting down to a well-executed custard pudding. Not exactly haute cuisine, but a known quantity with a little extra something thrown in to make the experience enjoyable. And sometimes a little literary custard pudding is just the thing you’re looking for.

Marcus Hadley hasn’t been home for four years, not since his father announced that he’d eloped to Gretna Green with (of all things!) an actress. Marcus has spent the years traveling, but now that his father and – shudder! – stepmother have died, he must return to Rosemount and assume his responsibilities as the new Earl of Ellston. One of those responsibilities is a stepsister, who Marcus assumes is just a child. While he doesn’t look forward to playing the role of guardian for an actress’s offspring, he vows to do the right thing by the girl, seeing to it that she’s properly schooled and, eventually, given a Season. He certainly wasn’t expecting to be presented to a nineteen-year-old beauty, for whom he soon develops very un-brotherly feelings.

Julia Barclay had a single glimpse of her stepbrother the day he stormed out of the house after the quarrel with his father. Now that the oh-so-righteous Marcus is due to come home, Julia knows he’s not going to tolerate her presence. She’s waiting for the inheritance his father settled on her so that she can get herself a cottage and live independently. Until then, she has to figure out what to do with the friends who’ve been staying at Rosemount, helping her cope with her grief. The only problem is that they’re a troupe of actors, and their tour isn’t scheduled to start for several weeks yet. How can she keep Marcus from kicking them – and her – out? When she learns that Marcus plans to ship her off to London for her come-out, she’s doubly dismayed: not only will she have to leave the only home she’s ever known, but she’ll lose the chance to get to know Marcus better.

Julia and Marcus are pleasant characters. Julia’s reluctance to leave Rosemount is very believable, given that she spent most of her childhood traveling with her mother. Marcus’s dilemma rings true, too: he thinks his father married a gold-digger, but nothing could be further from the truth, and while his adjustment to this reality isn’t painless, at least he’s not so blockheaded that he refuses to acknowledge it. I will admit to a moment of squeamishness once I realized the set-up to the story, but fortunately this is not a Regency-set Diana Palmer book. The stepbrother/sister relationship is very muted, since Julia and Marcus have never known each other up to this point, so there’s no ick factor at work here.

For the most part the secondary characters work well. We’ve seen these types before, but Ms. McCabe manages to breathe some fresh air into them. The subterfuge Julia undertakes to keep the actors at Rosemount, while hardly innovative, is executed with grace and humor. Her friends are quick to see that there’s something possible between Marcus and Julia, and do what they can to push the pair together. The only exception among the well-drawn minor characters is The Haughty Beauty Next Door, who’s got her eye out for Marcus and her claws out for Julia. She veers just a little too close to The Dreaded Stereotype for my taste.

I’ll gladly pick up another book by Amanda McCabe, with the understanding that I won’t be getting either a full-blown laugh-fest or a deep introspective character study. If you’re looking for a light, quick Regency read, this may be the book for you.