Searching For Captain Wentworth by Jane Odiwe Page B

really felt
I’d cheated by buying ready
prepared vegetables. But then, it was nice to feel that I was good at something.
    ‘How’s the
writing going?’
    Somehow, I’d
known that feeling wouldn’t last. ‘How do you know about my writing?’
    ‘Lara told me
you’re a writer and that you’re in Bath to be inspired.’
    ‘The truth is
that I haven’t even really started.’
    Josh nodded
sympathetically. ‘Well, you haven’t been here very long. It’s a novel you’re researching, isn’t
it? What’s it about?’
    I didn’t know
exactly, but I really didn’t want him to think I was clueless. ‘Yes, it’s a novel inspired by Jane
Austen, but also a kind of personal
exploration.’
    ‘Semi-autobiographical?’
    ‘Not really,
it’s an historical novel, though there will inevitably be some of myself that will reveal
itself, I’m sure. Don’t you think
anyone who writes a book leaves a little of themselves in the pages? I’m sure Jane Austen did.’
    ‘Do you think
she was Anne Elliot, then? And if so, who was
    Captain Wentworth?’
    ‘Mmm … I don’t
know about that. I’ve always wondered if it was the theme of the book, of love being lost and
found again, that was more
important. Besides revealing the snobbery of Anne’s father and some of the people in Bath that she so
obviously wanted to expose in all
their awfulness, I imagine that she wanted to write a happy ending for herself – perhaps with the
man she’d truly loved, whoever
that might have been. Someone told me that she wrote Persuasion when she was dying. She
knew she was never going to marry
at all, let alone marry the man who Captain Wentworth was based upon.’
    ‘Somebody is
bound to have a theory about it. I do know that the time she spent in Bath is shrouded somewhat in
mystery. She wrote endlessly
to her sister, but for some reason there is a complete gap in the correspondence between 1801 and
1804. Nothing, not a
single letter, not even really much writing! “They” say that her sister burned them all.’
    ‘I’ve always
wondered why she placed her most emotional novel in Bath. I remember reading that she disliked
Bath but, if that was true, why
would she set her most romantic book here? And why the mystery? Do you think she had a love affair
or something?’
    ‘That’s it! Josh
thumped his fist down on the table in a triumphant gesture. ‘That’s what you should write
about, a novel about Jane
Austen’s unrequited love. I bet you could find masses of information for research, here in Bath.’
    I couldn’t help
laughing at his enthusiasm and I was surprised how closely his ideas mirrored my thoughts. It set
me thinking.
    Maybe there
might be a way I could find out what I was curious to know, as well as find out more of Sophia’s story.
But there was only one way to
discover what I wished to know about my ancestor and that particular method would, of course, involve
the use of a certain white
glove. Yet, I knew that I was feeling very uneasy about still having it. And I also knew that in the unlikely
event of Jane Austen ever
choosing to confide in me, I would never betray her secrets.
    ‘I expect
someone’s already done that, anyway. But, I really would like to find out more about her life. I’d
like the answers to a few
questions I have. Everyone has their own idea about Jane Austen and I’d like to explore that in some way.’
    The meal was over.
I hadn’t any pudding to offer, but Josh said he couldn’t eat another thing, thanking me
again for a lovely meal and for my
company.
    ‘It was so
lovely of you to ask me to supper. I’m always on the move with my job and I don’t usually get to meet
anyone much, let alone be invited
home for a meal.’
    ‘I really find
that hard to believe. I would have thought there’d be females falling over themselves to take you
home.’
    I could have
bitten off my tongue the moment I’d said it.
    He gave me a
long look, almost quizzical. ‘Would you?’
    I felt my