Inspired by Jane Austen's Persuasion and the wonderful 1995 BBC adaptation of the same, this scene from Searching for Captain Wentworth sums up my heroine Sophie's feelings when she finds an ancient white glove.
And then
I saw him. Well, I saw the back of him, which was the
next best thing. He was tall and broad shouldered with
dark, curly hair waving over the upturned collar on his jacket, his blue jeans showing a lean physique. My neighbour was standing on the broad pavement outside waiting for the traffic to clear and fiddling with the catch on an umbrella, as large raindrops started to fall out of the sky. He seemed to be looking for something, checking his pockets, before putting up the huge, black umbrella that obscured any chance of a glimpse at his face. I could see what Lara meant; he definitely had something about him even from the back. It was then that I noticed that he’d dropped something, white and crumpled, but I couldn’t decide whether it was really something or nothing. I didn’t quite know what to do. I didn’t want to bang on the window because he’d instantly know I’d been watching him and as it was I felt a little like I’d been spying on him. I watched him cross the road. He was heading off in the direction of Sydney Gardens opposite. I don’t know what possessed me at that moment, but before I knew what I was doing, I snatched up my coat and keys, ran downstairs and out through the door.
I picked up the wet object
and it unfurled in my hand like a fortune-telling, cellophane fish from a Christmas
cracker. It was a man’s glove with long fingers made of fine, white
kid. Neatly stitched, clearly
hand-made and soft to the touch, I was immediately reminded of a glove I’d seen before.
Captain Wentworth’s glove.
There’s a scene at the end of my favourite Persuasion film
where Captain Wentworth takes Anne Elliot’s hand. It’s the most romantic gesture that unites
them finally, at the end. The kiss that takes place afterwards has
nothing on the way he covers her small fingers in his large ones, and it
was this image that immediately jumped into my mind.
From Searching for Captain Wentworth by Jane Odiwe