Book request: I read this book in the early 1980's. Historical/romance set in late 1800's (or early 1900s) California. Daughter of aristocratic Mexicans is courted by brother of good family. He is gentle and poetic; wants to marry her...but she is introduced to his brother, a bit of a rake and they fall in love. Gentle brother spies them after they've been intimate and runs away from home and returns many years later to try to steal her back from his brother (and not so gentle anymore). Long novel, I think it actually goes all the way to the next generation. I'm thinking the title was a spanish word, but not totally sure. Hope somebody recognizes this!

Matching book description: The love story of Amelie -- the sensitive, ardent, young girl whose uncompromising code of honor leads her to choices that will reverberate for generations.The tale of two brothers whose fierce love for the same woman almost destroys them both.The culmination of passion in the next generation when the shy, beautiful heiress Tessa meets the one man she should not marry.The  The love story of Amelie -- the sensitive, ardent, young girl whose uncompromising code of honor leads her to choices that will reverberate for generations.The tale of two brothers whose fierce love for the same woman almost destroys them both.The culmination of passion in the next generation when the shy, beautiful heiress Tessa meets the one man she should not marry.The chronicle of a unique city, Los Angeles, wrestling with the power of the railroads, dealing with the discovery of oil, growing into the fabulous capital of filmdom. ...more