The English countryside was spectacular. As soon as Rose and Meg had driven past the city limits of London, Rose took a deep breath of fresh air from her open window.

She had grown up with green grassy fields, farm animals, and flowers and trees galore. She could handle the city when she had to, but out in the country was where she loved being. Even Meg’s bright green hair and bright yellow car paled compared to colourful wildflower fields, patches of thick, lush forests and quaint thatch-roofed farm cottages.

A fresh wave of homesickness hit her. And with Ethan and Daniel avoiding her, it just made her feel all that much worse.

They shouldn’t be mad. Rose was a grown woman who could date whoever she liked, and they had no right to make her feel like the bad guy. All because she was dating someone they weren’t friends with anymore. 

Before she and Meg had left for Longleat—a grand house near Bath, even Tilly’s flat had become awkward. Daniel had been there twice in the last few days and he had barely said two words to her.

Ethan had turned on his heel at the restaurant and she hadn’t seen him since. She had been busy finalising arrangements for Longleat, which was going to be the Darcy residence. There were also a few smaller cottages nearby that were perfect for the Bennett and Collins family homes. Even though she was busy, she knew he was avoiding her. All the spots where their paths would normally meet. He was nowhere to be seen.

And to make things even more frustrating, she still didn’t know what the problem was, and why Ethan and George hated each other so much. George has kissed her at the end of their date. But she had been too distracted to enjoy it. 

They didn’t have time to go on a second date before she left, but they had been in touch, texting every day. It was easy and fun; they joked and asked how each other’s days had been. And he was always genuinely interested. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Meg asked, turning down Tina Turner’s ‘simply the best’.

“Am I a horrible person for dating George?” Rose asked.

“Don’t be silly, dear,” Meg said, patting Rose on the knee. “I never told you this, but I thought you and Ethan would make a wonderful couple. I even tried pushing you two together a few times. But perhaps it just wasn’t meant to be. Maybe George has come into your life at just the right time.”

“Wait... you tried setting us up?” Rose looked at Meg, confused. 

“Your first meeting, the dancing, the pub.”

Rose had thought those things were just random coincidences—sneaky Meg.

“What do you mean, the pub?”

“Who do you think convinced Ethan to go in the first place?” Meg said with a cheeky smile.

“Ah... me?” Rose replied with a frown.

“I put him on the ledge, you just nudged him off it, sweetie.”

“Well, I appreciate the thought, Meg, but it would never work out with Ethan. He’s sleeping with Victoria and I’m not good enough.”

“Oh hush! Ethan would be lucky to have you and if he can’t see that, then shame on him.”

“Thanks Meg.” She didn’t believe Meg’s words, but it was nice to hear them, anyway. She stared out the window, her eyes following along a broken stone wall.

After a few moments of silence, Meg said to Rose. “Did I tell you that there’s a safari park at Longleat?”

Rose turned from her comforting view to look at Meg. “Really?”

Meg nodded. “And I was thinking on one of our days off we should all take a tour. How about you invite George to come for a visit and join us?”

“I don’t think that would go down well with Ethan.”

“Don’t worry about Ethan. He had his chance and ignored it, like the stupid man that he is. Like you said, he has Victoria—“ Meg grimaced as she said the words. “So he has no right to interfere with your dating life.”

“Thanks Meg, you’re the best. Tilly is very lucky to have you.”

Meg looked at Rose, a little teary-eyed. “You know, there was a time when I was worried she was spiralling out of control. But I think having you here has been great for her. And I don’t have enough praise for that boy, Daniel. He’s convinced her to give counseling a go, you know?”

Rose’s mouth dropped open. “Are you serious?”

Meg smiled and nodded.

“I’ve been trying for years to get her to agree to seeking help,” Rose said. 

“We all have, dear. I think she really loves him and wants to make it work—which means confronting the past.” Meg was crying now. She loved Tilly like she was her own daughter and Meg had never married or had children of her own, so it was nice that they had each other. 

“That’s wonderful news. I wonder why she never told me herself?” Rose couldn’t help feeling disappointed that she’d received this information secondhand. 

“You’ve been very distracted with this whole Ethan and George love triangle. Maybe she didn’t want to burden you further?”

“A: It’s not a love triangle. Ethan has made it perfectly clear we are little more than friends. And B: her doing therapy is happy and welcome news. When she’s happy—I’m happy.”

“You’re a good friend, Rose. I wish she had more people like you in her life—and that you lived closer.”

Rose often wished they lived closer, too. Video chats just weren’t the same. There was nothing quite like a snuggly hug with your bestie.

They spent the rest of the drive in companionable silence until they reached the grand estate. It was beautiful, and Rose instantly fell in love. Back home, the oldest buildings were little pioneer shacks. But here, the large stately homes with hundreds of years of history was something Rose absolutely adored. The beauty and elegance of the carefully maintained mansions always took her breath away. 

She was no connoisseur of art and architecture, but she could certainly appreciate a pretty house and gardens.

Meg showed her around and took her past all the filming locations on Rolly—who had been brought in on the back of a truck for the production crew to get from A to B quickly. After she felt somewhat familiar with the place, Meg drove them to their hotel in the nearby town of Warminster.

As they pulled into the gravel car park, Rose could see a bunch of the cast and crew milling about. And there in the far corner was a sleek black Ferrari. He was there, still sitting in the driver’s seat, and she decided it was the perfect time to pounce.

She walked up to his car and knocked on his window. He jumped at the sudden intrusion and looked up with a scowl. Once he realised it was Rose, his facial expression changed, but she wasn’t sure it was any better, because now he looked a mixture of angry and annoyed. 

He reluctantly got out of the car and snapped at her, “what do you want?”

Whoa! There was no need to take that tone. 

“I just wanted to talk about the other night.”

“What about it? You went on a date with that low life scum even though you knew I hated him. You two deserve each other.” His eyes bore into her and his scowl was back.

“Excuse me! I don’t know what went on between the two of you, but you are not the boss of me and I can date whoever I damn well please!” Rose seethed, her fists clenched at her sides. “And he treats me with way more respect than you ever have, you sanctimonious jerk!”

He just stood there, mouth agape. Then just when she thought he was about to say something, the passenger door opened and out stepped Victoria. 

“Well, well, well, this day just got interesting,” Victoria said, smirking at Rose.

“You’re sleeping with the trash who broke my arm and then have the nerve to tell me who I should and shouldn’t date. Well, that’s just rich!”

“Who are you calling trash? You pathetic loser. Any idiot can see you want Ethan and this other guy is just a pathetic attempt at making him jealous.”

“Shut up, Victoria!” Ethan yelled.

“You know what? You two are perfect for each other. Two selfish assholes that value looks, money and reputation above anything else. I feel sorry for the both of you,” Rose said in a quiet, steady tone. She quickly wiped at the tears in her eyes before storming off.

Ethan didn’t go after her, he didn’t apologise and he avoided all that evening. Rose was glad, though. She didn’t need people like that in her life, and it was better to find out sooner rather than later. She wouldn’t feel bad about George any longer, either. Whatever had happened between the two friends was none of her business, and she would not let it affect their relationship. 

Sprawled out amongst the pillows of her comfy king size bed, she grabbed her phone from the bedside table and dialed George’s number. Hopefully, he wasn’t too busy at the hospital for a visit.