The Rose in the Ring

This book was very slow for the first third. Yesterday I picked it back up, determined to finish. I read to half with less effort than before, then finished all the last half today in as many minutes as I could snatch from work. Once you reach the Part Two section, five years after the beginning, the action picks up rapidly and the book is almost impossible to put down.
David Jenison is framed by his uncle for the ruthless murder of his grandfather. Knowing he will be hanged if caught–it is 1875, and justice does not wait long for fulfillment–he runs away in a desperate attempt to evade capture until he can clear his name. He is tracked to a circus, where he is astonished to find people ready to take him in and shield him. He lives with them for months under an alias, working as a clown. He falls in love with young Christine Braddock, whose father owns the show and is descending rapidly into helpless drunkenness. Tom Braddock appears to be the worst threat until Colonel Grand appears on the scene. He holds the power to ruin everyone in the show, especially good hearted Mrs. Braddock, Christine's mother, who is the object of his lust.
Is Jenison's name ever going to be cleared? Can he help save Mary and Christine Braddock from Grand's evil intentions?