Page 32 of The Botanist’s Improper Bride

“I didn’t think you ever came to town. You certainly haven’t called on me before.”

Trevor winced. “I don’t usually spend time in London. This is an exception.”

“Ah.” The professor pivoted toward Seraphina. “And who is this enchanting lady?”

“Miss Seraphina Dalton.” Trevor met Seraphina’s eyes briefly. “Professor Adams taught me chemistry at Oxford.”

“Really?” She drew herself up taller. “It’s an honor to meet you, Professor. I find chemistry fascinating. Of course, I wasn’t able to study it at university, but I stay abreast of the latest developments in the scientific periodicals, and I do my best to procure useful books so that I might further my understanding.”

Professor Adams tilted his head, a twinkle in his eyes. “I’m glad to hear that you haven’t let barriers to education stop you from exploring your interest.”

“Not at all. I’m most interested in the extraction and synthesis of compounds that have medical uses, but all developments in chemistry are intriguing.”

“Ah yes, we all have our specific areas of focus. Mine have changed over the years, but I tend to concentrate more on the interaction between chemistry and mathematics than anything practical.”

“What’s your opinion on atomic theory?” she asked with all the eagerness of a new student. “Do you believe that atoms are physical reality, or are they just a useful mathematical concept?”

Adams’s grin widened. “I am quite convinced by Dalton’s atomic theory. I’m certain that atoms exist and that some people much cleverer than I will uncover all of the details about each and every type. It will take time, but all the best things do.” A bell chimed, and the voices around them died down. “That’s our signal that the demonstration is about to begin.”

“It was a pleasure to meet you,” Seraphina said, performing an awkward half-curtsy thing that she stopped when she bumped into someone behind her.

Trevor found it charming. He was also relieved over this proof that he wasn’t the only one who ever fell victim to social faux pas. She was usually so competent at everything that he’d never expected to see her fumble an interaction.

They shuffled into the demonstration room, which had tiered seating along the walls. The ceiling above was domed, giving the space a sense of openness despite the crowded rows. He urged Seraphina and Bessie down to the second row from the front, since the first was already full. They sat and, beside him, Seraphina shuffled to the front of her chair as if she needed the best possible view.

On a slightly raised platform, a large wooden desk had been placed behind a glass shield. A curved tube with an S-like shape and two connected glass flasks was displayed on the desk. A man dropped onto the seat beside Trevor, and he edged away slightly, uncomfortable having a stranger pressed up against him.

The man whom Trevor assumed would lead the demonstration was a tall, balding fellow with a rangy frame and a slightly scruffy coat. He started speaking without any greeting or introduction and explained what he was doing as he added chlorine hydrate to one end of the bent glass tube and a cooling mixture of ice and salt to the other end.

The scientist heated the chlorine hydrate, and a murmur rippled around the room as it formed a green gas. The gas traveled the length of the tube until reaching the cooling mixture, where it condensed into a bright yellow liquid. Someone gasped nearby, and a woman clapped.

To his right, Seraphina was straining for a better look, her mouth stretched in the biggest smile he’d ever seen.

His heart sang. She deserved to be happy, and he was glad he’d been able to give her a moment of joy.

The demonstration continued for a while longer, and when it was finished, guests had the opportunity to approach the speaker with questions. Trevor stayed with Bessie as Seraphina pushed to the front and spoke animatedly with the demonstrator. He watched carefully, ready to intervene if the man wasn’t respectful, but based on the look of things, he didn’t need to worry.

“Thank you for bringing her here,” Bessie murmured quietly. “It’s nice to see her so excited about something.”

“It was my pleasure,” he said honestly.

When Seraphina rejoined them, they made their way back through the library and out the front doors. Seraphina wouldn’t stop talking about transformations between different physical forms, and he was congratulating himself on choosing to bring her here when their carriage arrived to collect them.

She didn’t seem to need much input from him to keep the conversation going, so he pondered how to raise the topic of courting as they took their seats and the driver closed the door. He didn’t want to interrupt her when she was so full of energy and ideas, so he waited for the right opportunity, but before it arose, she stacked her hands on top of each other on her lap and angled herself toward him.

“Are you courting me?” she asked bluntly.

He nearly choked on his own spit. He bent over, racked by coughs as he struggled to clear his throat. Seraphina smacked his back, and he straightened, his eyes watering, and drew in a slow, shaky breath.

“Yes,” he admitted, unable to bring himself to meet her eyes. Sweat beaded on his upper lip, but he forced himself to go on. “I think very highly of you. I always believed that your future husband would be a fortunate man, but it was only when your betrothal to Beardsly was announced that I realized I’d secretly hoped it might be me.”

She cocked her head. “So you weren’t actively thinking about marrying me when I first debuted in society?”

“No.” He stared at his hands, uncertain whether she’d consider that a negative or a positive. “It was always a vague sort of thing. When I found out you were engaged, the disappointment hit me so hard that I couldn’t deny my feelings. I wanted you for myself. I’d just been too stupid to realize it, or perhaps too scared of rejection.”

He glanced at her, trying to see how she felt about this. Was that a hint of smugness in her expression, or was he imagining things?

“Do you know about the ultimatum from my father?” she asked, surprising him with her candor.