Can such a strange friendship turn into love? He never realized she was so lovely. She never noticed how charming he was. Miles Bridgerton and Vanessa Everleigh have known each for over a decade and both of them had never really given the other much...
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Miles didn't quite know where he was taking her, but it had be far away enough to where no one would encounter them alone. Naturally, he gravitated toward the direction of Crake House. He'd spent most of his childhood running about the land between Crake House and Aubrey Hall, so he knew it well enough to know the more secluded areas.
Hidden beneath the growing intensifying excitement within her, Vanessa felt affection brewing. She didn't know what was going to happen, but one way or another, this man was going to change her life today. She was falling for him, and it was devastatingly out of her control. Only a few moments ago, she feared that he might view her as more than a friend, but now, she herself grew worried that what she felt for him went beyond attraction.
But for the time being, Vanessa took in the sight of Kent with adventurous pleasure.
"If you like these fields, then you would love Scotland. Everything looks greener there. More grass, more land, just.... more more." Miles told her as they walked into deeper into the grassy field.
"I've never been. Did you go there often in your travels?" She asked him, curious.
"Only when I was younger, to visit my aunt and uncle."
"The earl and countess of Kilmartin, yes?" Miles nodded to her.
"I haven't gone back alone in my adult years. If I stepped foot in Scotland again, it would be with purposes that meant I'd possibly be gone for years." He said.
She looked at him in confusion.
He noticed her puzzled expression, and he explained. "Do you know of Crake House? It's 3 miles from here."
"Well, yes," Vanessa brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "but I don't see how that's related to Scotland."
"Crake House belongs to the Earl of Manston of the Rokesby family. They've been long time friends of the Bridgertons, many of them married each other in my grandfather's generation. One of them, Nicholas Rokesby, married my grand-aunt Georgiana. They lived in Scotland, near Edinburgh, where he completed his studies to become a doctor."
"Oh," Vanessa said impressed, "I was not aware that you already had a doctor in the family before."
"You'd think that fact would make it possible for me, too. But unfortunately it's not how things turned out." He sighed, "When I heard of Nicholas' accomplishments, they motivated me. He was a man connected to my family, the son of an earl, and a successful doctor. I've always thought that if he did it and didn't tarnish the family's reputation, then so could I."
Vanessa listened to him intently.
"But father will not budge." Miles paused, "I wish badly to study in Edinburgh. Oxford and Cambridge are closer, but they do not offer lectures in medicine as extensive as the universities in Scotland. However, officially attending university with the intent of becoming a licensed doctor is a long term commitment. The viscount refuses to let me go."
