Page 2 of A Marquess' Season of Secrets
A statuesque woman and her little dog passed her, nearly blinding Juliana with the number of jewels they were both wearing.
Goodness! Surely one does not need to wear that much jewellery in the park? And why on earth would one put a diamond necklace around a dog’s neck?
The fluffy, white Pomeranian appeared just as haughty as her owner up until a flock of geese settled on the pond nearby. The dog’s high-pitched barks could probably be heard in the next town and were near-deafening for Juliana, who was only a few feet away from them. The cheeky thing refused to calm down despite her owner trying to soothe her, even straining at her leash.
“Penny!” she heard the woman protest. “Do stop it. You will not run after those geese like some common dog. Remember who you are.”
Juliana chuckled silently. An animal was an animal, no matter the breed or the number of jewels it wore. Penny wanted to run after those geese, and by Jove, she would try all she could to do it.
“Penny!” the woman wailed as the dog broke free and sprinted towards the pond.
Will the silly dog indeed jump into the pond?
Juliana watched in amazement as the dog took a flying leap and landed in the water with a loud splash.
“Penny!” the woman screeched, her voice breaking at the end as she ran to the edge of the pond.
The geese scattered, squawking their protest as they took flight. The dog resurfaced for just several seconds before it went down again, its paws the last to disappear. Heavens! Her collar had to be weighing her down.
The dog’s distraught owner started yelling, her voice piercing the otherwise tranquil park environment.
“Oh! Oh! She’s drowning! Penny! Penny!”
The dog came back up, its little legs kicking hard, but it wasn’t enough because she disappeared under the water again.
People started to gather around the pond, but not one man offered to help.
Does chivalry not extend to assisting women in rescuing their dogs?I suppose not.
There was no way that Juliana could watch the poor thing die, so she threw her parasol to the side, took her shoes off, and waded into the water, much to the surprise of the onlookers.
“What on earth is she doing?” she heard a woman ask.
“Saving the dog, Henrietta,” another answered her. “What does it look like? Foolish thing to do, you know. Her dress will be ruined!”
Meanwhile, the dog’s owner had half-collapsed against an unwilling gentleman and was crying about her poor dead Penny. Fortunately for Juliana, the water came to her hips, so she wouldn’t have to get completely wet, but her feet were touching slimy things that made her wish she had kept her shoes on.
Where was the dog? Juliana heard splashing on her right and the gurgled sounds of the dog trying to communicate its distress. She moved towards the creature, crying out in surprise when the land beneath her shifted. Juliana fell forward, the water closing over her head as she went under. She emerged quickly, pushing the hair from her eyes as her feet found solid ground.
“Drat!” she complained. “All this for a little dog that likely would have bitten my hand if I had tried to pet it.”
Where was it? She yelled when something with claws bumped her leg, taking her a second longer to realise it was the dog. Juliana immediately reached down and dragged the dog up, getting scratched in the process as it tried to climb up her.
“Just a minute!” she told the dog and had to hold it tightly against her chest to stop the scratching.
Penny eventually calmed down and gave a whimper, shivering against Juliana’s bosom. Despite being wet and a little hurt, she was relieved the dog was still alive if soaking wet and terrified.
“Time to get out and get you back to your mistress,” she told the dog and moved back towards dry ground.
Penny’s owner was waiting with open arms, snatching the dog from Juliana before she was entirely out of the water.
“Oh, Penny! Don’t you ever do that to me again!” the woman tearfully scolded.
Juliana looked down at herself and was grateful she had chosen a dark colour today, or she might have been indecently exposed to the gathered crowd.
“Julie!” she heard her friends call out to her.
A gentleman offered his hand to pull Juliana out of the water, but what use was he to her now? She declined the hand and moved past the crowd to where her friends stood.
