Steffi Blümen

Steffi Blümen is the headmistress of the Estate and a former teacher of Myfanwy Alice Thomas. When she visits Myfanwy in London, her exuberant affection and detailed recollections reveal how the Estate assessed Myfanwy as a child: a remarkable intellectual and an unprecedented supernatural talent, but not a prospective field agent.

Identity and Introduction

Steffi arrives at Myfanwy’s office after Ingrid Woodhouse formally announces her as “Frau Blümen, Chief Instructrix of the Estate!” The imposing formality lasts only until Steffi enters: nearly round, she has to turn sideways and draw in her chest to get through the doorway, while her blond hair rises in elaborate coils and braids. She greets Myfanwy as “Little Miffy” and “My Liebchen,” immediately notices her black eyes, and gathers her into a tight embrace.

Steffi’s manner combines warmth with unrestrained directness. She asks why Myfanwy is being so formal, reminding her that they had agreed she would use the familiar name Steffi after rising to the Checquy Court. She also recalls that Myfanwy hated fighting as a child, then answers her own questions before Myfanwy can respond. The reunion makes clear that their relationship began long before Myfanwy’s elevation to the Court and had retained an affectionate, intimate tone.

Her Account of Myfanwy’s Childhood

Steffi recalls Myfanwy’s arrival at the Estate as a frightened child clutching the driver’s hand, with chocolate smeared across her face and tears in her eyes. At that point, Lady Linda Farrier was the only person Myfanwy had left. Steffi says Myfanwy adored Farrier, but that Farrier’s lack of loyalty eventually extinguished the confidence in the child’s eyes. Her account offers Myfanwy a personal interpretation of a childhood she cannot simply recover as a memory: the details make sense to her even though they do not return as recollection.

Before Myfanwy arrived, Steffi and the other tutors already knew of her powers. Steffi says she read the files and records herself and concluded that Myfanwy possessed an ability unlike anything previously seen in the British Isles. The staff were eager to learn what Myfanwy could do, but wary of pressing a child who had been taken into their care with less finesse than usual. Steffi criticizes the organization’s leaders for handling such decisions poorly, contrasting their extraordinary abilities with their deficient people skills.

Assessment and Career

Steffi regards Myfanwy’s potential as greater than the power she ever chose to develop. Myfanwy had acquired as much control as she needed, but seemed to have little desire to use her gifts beyond that point. Steffi therefore concluded that she would not become an effective field agent: even the prospect of Myfanwy dropping her keys if someone shouted was enough to make the danger of sending her into confrontations seem obvious.

The decision to direct Myfanwy toward administration followed from this assessment, not from any lack of intelligence or commitment. Steffi describes her as possessing a good memory and quick mind, and as being so thoroughly immersed in the Checquy that returning her to ordinary life was never seriously considered. Myfanwy’s administrative career was a practical fit for her abilities and temperament, though Steffi admits the choice was made with some regret. She also insists that Myfanwy would have risen to the Court on intellectual merit even without her exceptional powers.

Narrative Significance

Steffi’s visit gives Myfanwy an informed account of her former self from someone who knew her as a child and helped oversee her education. Her recollections distinguish the extraordinary promise others saw in Myfanwy from the limited extent to which Myfanwy herself pursued her powers, while explaining why the Checquy placed her in administration rather than field work. The affectionate reunion also supplies a counterpoint to the institutional history: Steffi speaks not only as the Estate’s headmistress, but as someone who remembers a frightened child and still calls her Miffy.