The Lady — Anne McCaffrey

AMIDST THE GRANDEUR OF THE EMERALD COUNTRYSIDE, A MAGNIFICENT STORY UNFOLDS....

They are the Carradvnes, who for over 200 years have bred and trained horses of the finest caliber on Cornanagh--a land so beautiful it inspires the soul.

But all is not idyllic at hearth and home. At the center of the conflict is Catriona, the youngest child, a girl who dreams of riding her family's big jumpers and show horses. Her father, Michael, is keenly aware of her immense talent and he urges her on--only to lock wills with his insufferably pious and overbearing wife Isabel, a woman who cannot bear horses, who cannot bear his touch. Her goal is to put stiff dresses, tight shoes, and perfect manners on Catriona.

It is a stalemate of pride and passion--until the day Lady Selina Healy enters their lives. Poised, beautiful, and warm, she too knows imprisonment in a loveless marriage, she too admires good horses, she too finds enchantment in Cornanagh. She falls in love...with Catriona, who becomes the child she never had, with the splendid lush land, and with Michael, the consummate horseman and gentleman....