Sonya, calm enough to slow the evening down

Sonya speaks softly, and people lean in. There is a calm about her that comes from a daily habit of meditation, and it has a way of spreading: ten minutes into an evening your shoulders drop and the day you had seems a long way off. She is thoughtful and warm, and in her early thirties she has the kind of self possession that makes everything feel simple. She is also an exceptional listener, the kind who remembers the city you grew up in and asks about it an hour later.

At 162 cm she has a dancer's athletic lightness; the hair is dark brown, long and straight, the eyes hazel. She dresses with understated evening elegance, a dark dress, a single fine bracelet, nothing that needs explaining. She speaks English slowly and precisely. Ballet is her great love; she still takes a barre class twice a week, and on her nights off she watches the Royal Ballet from high in the amphitheatre, where the pattern of the whole stage is clearest.

Scent is her other passion. She collects fragrances and can spend an hour at Floris on Jermyn Street, one of the oldest perfumers in London, choosing a single bottle. Her ideal evening starts there at five, moves to an early dinner in a quiet St James's dining room, and ends with a last drink at your hotel. On a warm night she may suggest a slow walk through Green Park on the way, the lamps just coming on. Her evenings are early and complete, never rushed and never late.

Sonya lives in Knightsbridge, close to the Park Lane and Hyde Park Corner hotels. She works from five until ten in the evening; message Henrietta with a time inside that window.