A rich, elderly, bachelor (Diego) from Madrid and his servant, Simón, have traveled to the city of Guadalajara to escort a poor 16-year-old girl (Francisca) and her mother back to the capital. They stop in the town of Alcalá de Henares to stay for the night. While there, Diego tells Simón that he is engaged to Francisca. He has never met the girl before, but her mother, Irene, has assured him, mostly through letters, that the girl is delighted to be marrying him. Diego has been looking for a wife with whom he can share friendship and mutual respect; he says that impassioned love is too emotional to be well thought out. But, he is attracted to Francisca's youth and innocence, and plans to marry her as soon as they arrive in Madrid the next morning. This certainly heats up the affair situation. He doesn't want anyone to know about it until the marriage is finalized, because he isn't sure how his friends and relatives will view his marrying such a young girl. Simón is dubious, but Diego pays him no mind. However, he expresses concern over the fact that Francisca never says she loves him and has never explicitly consented to the marriage. Irene assures him that it would be improper for a girl to express such feelings in front of a man, and that Francisca tells Irene all the time about how wonderful Diego is.