Twenty-two-year-old Catherine Royce goes to Madrid to begin a new job as a tutor. She is met at the airport by tall and distinguished looking Jaime de Berceo Madroza. (His niece Teresa is the one she will be tutoring.) He thinks she is way too young for the job, he expected someone much older. Catherine eventually meets the family---the grandmother, Jaime's brother Ramon, and the niece, pretty and headstrong sixteen-year-old Teresa. Catherine gets on well with Teresa and they enjoy the sights of Madrid. Eventually they move to the family home, Soria, on the island of Tenerife. Once there Catherine meets Teresa's mean stepmother, Lucia, who has her sights set on Jaime and becoming the permanent mistress of Soria, which distresses Catherine, who is starting to have feelings for Jaime.

Entertaining romance by Jean S. MacLeod. Jaime was a good hero. I liked how he realized, even though she was young, that Catherine was a good influence on Teresa. I also found Catherine very sweet and likable. Stepmother Lucia livened things up a bit, along with feisty Teresa. This was an enjoyable read with a lovely Spanish setting. ( )