Chapter 12Anna Lory Stella
Ostro, a splendid white Arabian thoroughbred, had walked for a long time in the snow and mud. Anna Lory got off his back, led him to the small stable attached to the house, and freed him of the saddle and the side bags, which overflowed with crocus flowers. She then secured the animal to a lead and started taking care of him. Anna Lory had returned satisfied from her first ride of the season. She still smelled trampled snow and damp grass. She had left two days earlier from her home, a cottage just outside the town of Badia Tedalda, a small mountain town on the border between Tuscany, Marche, and Emilia Romagna. It was the beginning of spring and the tops of the mountains were still covered with snow, but the sky was clear, and no clouds could be seen, apart fro
