Pietro suddenly kissed his future mother-in-law. Then he said, “Bad as Mr. Kroon was, I certainly have him to thank for one thing. Sims is still a fine circus.”
“Indeed it is,” said Lolita. “Mother, wait until you see a performance.”
Nancy asked what had happened to the Vascon troupe. Lolita said that when Rosa had been unable to perform, Mr. Kroon had discharged the whole equestrian troupe. Suddenly Lolita looked at Nancy.
“Oh,” she said, “it would be so wonderful if they would come back and we could have a full performance on the night of the wedding. Nancy, would you ride in Rosa’s place?”
The girl detective smiled and said she would be very happy to take part in the act.
The night of the gala performance Nancy’s family and friends sat in Box AA, with Señor Roberto, who had fully recovered from his injuries.
Bess whispered to George, “This is so marvelous I could cry. It’s the best mystery Nancy ever solved.”
“It was swell,” George agreed. “But you just wait. Another good mystery will come Nancy’s way and I’ll bet it won’t be long, either.”
George was right! Nancy had hardly recovered from her days at the circus when she was confronted with The Scarlet Slipper Mystery.
During the gala evening, it seemed as though each performer outdid himself. Nancy felt as if she had never done her stunt riding so well. The wedding plans had been announced to the audience, and after the finale, everyone stayed in his seat.
The happy bride and her real prince were married in the great circus ring. Then, as they walked out together, smiling, and the band played, the applause was thunderous.
A reception had been arranged in the cafeteria tent. The wedding gifts were displayed in one corner on a large table. Prominent among them was the picture of Nancy Drew, standing on a horse in her circus costume. Lola Flanders had asked Eloise Drew for it.
A little later the radiant bride said to Nancy, “This will be a constant reminder of the most wonderful girl I have ever met!”
Then Lolita held up her arm on which she was wearing the beautiful horse-charm bracelet.
“Are you sure you want me to have this as a wedding gift?” she asked Nancy.
“Of course I do,” Nancy replied. “The bracelet came from a queen and now it has come back to one—the queen of aerialists!”
Carolyn Keene, The Ringmaster's Secret
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