Secrets at Sea ends with a big wedding. It's the party of the century for our mice, and it brings our tale a nice bit of closure.
From the start of this book our human characters are really concerned about getting hitched, and by the end Camilla and Olive have both found their husbands—plus boy-crazy Beatrice has found herself a mate, too. In other words, all the romantic loose ends get tied up nice and neatly.
So the wedding gives us a pretty tidy conclusion for some of our characters, and it even brings the squabbling mice sisters back together since Helena and Louise are part of Beatrice's wedding. But the very last paragraphs of this book open up a whole new storyline. When the handsome mouse, Lord Peter, asks Helena to dance, she's seriously swept off her feet:
But he waited until our eyes met. Then he spoke. "I hope you have saved this waltz for me, Miss Cranston. And many more besides."
Then I was in his arms. Don't ask me how. I don't dance. I never had. When would I? But we were turning and turning in the waltz, swept away upon the beautiful blue Danube, while all the world watched and wondered.
You should have seen the look on Louise's face. (16.37-39)
So much for closure—now we've got a whole new romance budding between Helena and Lord Peter. And she seems pretty excited. This ending has us wondering what will happen between her and her new beau.
So what do you think happens after this first dance between Lord Peter and Helena? And what do you think of this open-ended conclusion?