Nancy decided not to pursue this subject. It might bring painful memories to the girl’s mother.
Instead she said, “Mrs. Flanders, a queen once gave you a beautiful bracelet with horse charms, didn’t she?”
Again Lola Flanders rose from her chair, and her eyes flashed.
“Yes,” she said excitedly. “Mrs. Ayres, where Is my bracelet?”
Nancy motioned the woman not to reply. Pulling up her coat sleeve, Nancy said:
“Mrs. Flanders, is this your bracelet?”
Mrs. Flanders stared at the piece of jewelry as if she were seeing a ghost. Nancy removed the bracelet and put it on Lola Flanders’ thin wrist.
As the woman stared at it, all the unnaturalness about her seemed to disappear. She straightened up, lifted her chin, and smiled at Nancy and Mrs. Ayres.
“Please tell me more about this bracelet. You say it is yours, Miss Drew. How did you get it?”
Nancy decided to make the story brief.
“It came from a shop in the States,” she said. “An aunt of mine saw it and bought it for me.”
Lola Flanders nodded, and Nancy hurried on with her task of awakening the woman’s mind completely. Putting an arm about her, she said:
“You have thought so many years that your lovely little girl was no longer living. This isn’t true. Lolita is alive and well. She lives in the United States. She’s one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever seen.”
On the spur of the moment, Nancy decided not to mention again that she was an aerialist. It might recall Lola’s accident to her and have a disastrous effect on her mind.
“My little girl is alive?” Lola Flanders exclaimed happily.
Nancy nodded. “How would you like to see her?” she asked.
This question almost overpowered Lola Flanders. She looked at Mrs. Ayres as if it were necessary to obtain her permission.
The woman smiled and came forward. Taking hold of Lola Flanders’ hand, she said:
“This is wonderful news, isn’t it? I think you should go and see your daughter.”
Nancy now told the women that her father, who was a lawyer, was outside waiting for her. He could arrange the legal steps so that Lola Flanders might accompany them back to the States very soon. Nancy also went on to say that Pietro and his son were waiting with her father.
“Oh, I want to see them!” Lola Flanders said.
Suddenly she looked at her shabby clothes. Then she shook her head. Speaking like an old trouper, she told the others that she could not possibly appear in public until she had something done with her hair and she had a pretty new gown. Nancy and Mrs. Ayres laughed. For the next few moments they helped Lola Flanders array herself as she wished. Nancy helped comb her hair in a more modern and becoming style. From a closet Mrs. Ayres brought out her own best dress. She wore it only to church, she said.
“Put this on,” Mrs. Ayres insisted.
Lola Flanders slipped it over her head, and giggling as happily as a girl, she surveyed herself in the mirror.
When she was ready, the former circus performer went downstairs. Nancy hurried outside and brought the men in.
“Lola! Lola! This is wonderful!” the elder Pietro cried, kissing her.
Mrs. Flanders blushed. Then Nancy introduced her father and the younger Pietro.
“How soon could Mrs. Flanders be ready to leave?” Nancy asked Mrs. Ayres.
“Any time,” the owner of the nursing home said. “She has very little in the way of baggage. It wouldn’t take ten minutes to pack it.”
Before Lola Flanders knew what was happening, she and her suitcase were in the big automobile, and she was saying good-by to Mrs. Ayres, promising to write to her often and tell her what was happening.
The trip back to London did not take long. By the following morning, Mr. Drew had made arrangements for taking Lola Flanders back to the States. He and Nancy had decided not to cable Lolita. While they hoped Mrs. Flanders would not have a relapse, they agreed that it would be better to wait until they arrived home before telling Lolita the wonderful news.
At the airport the Pietros said good-by. The younger clown took Nancy aside and asked if she would let him know when it might be feasible for him to return to the States.