Juffrouw Engel regaining her home and property

Juffrouw Engel regaining her home and property reverses a long dispossession that began when she was a child: after her father died, her aunt became her guardian and took control of the family house. Years later, a will that had remained hidden or unavailable surfaced through a local notary, confirming Juffrouw Engel’s ownership of the Red House and inheritance of her father’s savings. Reclaiming the house gave her more than a place to live; it established the setting for a close friendship with Matilda Wormwood.

Childhood Dispossession

When Juffrouw Engel was five, her father died suddenly, leaving her alone with her aunt. The aunt became her legal guardian, held parental authority over her, and somehow became the owner of the house. Juffrouw Engel later understood that a guardian might be permitted to live in a house for a limited period while managing it for a child, with the property passing to the child on reaching adulthood. That expectation made her aunt’s continued possession seem especially troubling.

The house was part of a wider pattern of control. After Juffrouw Engel became a teacher, her aunt claimed that years of food, clothing, and shoes had left a debt of thousands of pounds. She demanded ten years of Juffrouw Engel’s salary in repayment, arranged for the school to send the salary directly to her own bank account, and had Juffrouw Engel sign a document. Juffrouw Engel received only one pound a week as pocket money. She later acknowledged that she had been too frightened to refuse, despite recognizing that her salary could have been her chance at freedom.

Disputed Ownership

Juffrouw Engel believed that, as her father’s nearest relative, she should inherit if he had left no will. Her aunt countered with a document said to bear her father’s signature, leaving the house to his sister-in-law in return for caring for Juffrouw Engel. Juffrouw Engel was certain the document was forged, but said that no one could prove it. She also lacked the money to hire a lawyer, while her aunt was a highly respected and influential member of the community. The claim therefore remained unresolved not because Juffrouw Engel accepted her aunt’s account, but because she lacked the means and standing to challenge it.

The Will and the Return of the House

Two days after Agatha Bulstronk disappeared, Juffrouw Engel received a registered letter from a local notary. The letter reported that her late father’s will had suddenly and mysteriously come to light. It established that she had been the legal owner, since her father’s death, of the property on the edge of the village known as Het Rode Huis, which had until recently been occupied by Agatha Bulstronk. It also left Juffrouw Engel her father’s savings, which had fortunately remained safe in the bank.

The notary asked her to come to his office so the house and money could be put in her name. She did so, and within three weeks moved into Het Rode Huis, the home where she had grown up. The furniture and paintings from her childhood were still there, so her return restored not only a title to property but also the familiar contents of the house. The will’s sudden appearance resolves the practical obstacles that had kept her from contesting her aunt’s claim, although the account gives no further explanation of how the document was found.

A Home Shared

After moving in, Juffrouw Engel became able to offer Matilda Wormwood a home. She told Mr. Wormwood that she would be delighted to care for Matilda and pay all her expenses, but made clear that she would take her in only with his wholehearted agreement. The offer linked Juffrouw Engel’s recovered security to Matilda’s wish to live with her; Matilda’s parents consented to the arrangement as they prepared to leave.

The Red House then became the setting for an everyday closeness between teacher and child. Matilda visited Juffrouw Engel there after school, and their relationship grew into a close friendship. The house’s return thus changes the meaning of Juffrouw Engel’s inheritance: what had been withheld from her becomes a home she can inhabit and share.