that forced him to seek her company again. Though he’d spent the entirety of her dance with Mr. Priestly musing over this sudden turn of events, Oliver was no closer to understanding why or how it had happened.
“So, do you enjoy London?” he asked.
Miss Sophie’s brows drew together. “Pardon?”
“Before Mr. Priestly interrupted us, I had asked you if you enjoy London.”
A rosy hue colored her cheeks, and Miss Sophie smiled, though Oliver did not know what it was about his question that pleased her so. He only felt a resounding lightness in his chest at having stumbled upon it.
“To the utter mortification of my family, I do not,” she said with a smile. “I find nothing to recommend Town. Society holds little amusement for me, and without that, all that is left is crowded streets, choking fog, and a stench worse than any pigsty, which lingers on one’s clothes long after one has escaped back to the country.”
A burble of laughter caught in Oliver’s throat at that all too apt description, and Miss Sophie wrinkled her nose with a grimace.
“Please forgive me. That was terribly uncouth of me to say.”
“You gave voice to my thoughts, Miss Sophie. There is nothing to apologize for.” Oliver chuckled yet again, and Miss Sophie’s expression eased back into a grin. “My mother and sister are fond of the museums and concerts, but I prefer to remain at home. If not for my deep and abiding love for them, I would never stir from Essex.”
Miss Sophie slanted a look at him. “And never explore the beauty to be found in other landscapes?”
Oliver considered that a moment. “Then I amend my statement to, if not for my deep and abiding love for Mother and Lily, I would never step foot in London again.”
A spark lit Miss Sophie’s already bright eyes, and one side of her lips curled upwards. “Better.”
“I am glad I meet with your approval,” he replied with an arched brow.
Miss Sophie’s cheeks pinked, and she shook her head, her gaze dropping. “I do apologize. You must think me terribly forward—”
“I think you engaging and highly entertaining.” Oliver couldn’t say what possessed him to be so frank with the lady, but he felt more at ease with her than he did any other person of his acquaintance outside his family. And though he knew the suddenness of his feelings ought to bother him, Oliver refused to give heed to such worries.
“I simply think it is a waste to restrict yourself to only one county,” she said. “There is so much more to see.”
“Then you are an adventuress?”
Miss Sophie laughed at that. “Hardly. I have never stepped on foreign soil, but I’ve seen a great deal of our gorgeous country. There is so much to see from the sandy shores of Cornwall to the craggy Peak District and even the great mountains of the Highlands. The moors of Devon vary from those of Yorkshire. And there is such a variety of flora and fauna…”
Her words drifted into silence, and Miss Sophie cast a look at Oliver, her features tightening ever so slightly. “I apologize, Mr. Kingsley. I did not mean to ramble on.”
“You weren’t rambling, Miss Sophie, and you have nothing to apologize for. It’s clear you are passionate about the subject.”
Miss Sophie pursed her lips, glancing around them before saying softly, “I adore naturalism, and I cannot help but expound at length about it. The variety of life to be found even in a single village is astounding, and the more I study it, the more awed I am at the complexity of it all. There is something about the forests, fields, rivers, lakes, wildlife, and insects that fills me with such reverence. And yet, at the heart of it, there is so much joy to be found in simply being out in nature.”
Halting once more, Miss Sophie winced. “Please forgive—”
“Nonsense,” Oliver shot back before she could trip over herself to apologize for that which needed no apology. “I adore hearing you speak so passionately.”
“Then you are an anomaly, sir, for I have not met many who care to hear about my studies.”
“And that deserves another ‘nonsense.’ I happen to know several fellows from school who have dedicated their lives to that subject, and you are not the first lady I’ve met who shares that interest. It is an admirable course of study,” he replied, earning another sparkling smile from the young lady.
“For my part,” he continued, “I cannot claim to understand the science behind