I know what you're thinking.
You're thinking that the aunt killed him and made it look as though he'd done it himself.
Oh, one must never think things like that, Matilda, without any proof.
What happened when you were left alone with the aunt?
Was she nice to you?
Nice?
She was a demon.
As soon as my father was out of the way, she became a holy terror.
What did she do to you?
I don't want to talk about it.
It's too horrible.
But in the end I became so frightened of her that I used to start shaking when she came into the room.
Oh, Miss Honey, didn't you go to school?
Yes, I went to the same school you're going to now.
But I became so dominated by this monster of an aunt that when she gave me an order, no matter what it was, I obeyed it instantly.
How did you get to be a teacher?
Ah well, I was allowed to go to the teacher's training college so long as I came straight home again every afternoon to do the washing and ironing and to clean the house and cook the supper.
But how did you get away?
How did you get this house?
Well, when I got my teacher's job, the aunt told me that I owed her a lot of money because she'd been feeding me for years and buying me shoes and clothes.
So I had to start paying her back.
I was just a slave to her.
Then one day, while I was out walking, I came across this cottage.
I found out that it was owned by a farmer and he agreed to let me rent it, though he thought I was mad, since it has no conveniences, no running water, no nothing.
So suddenly you had a house all of your own?
That's right.
But how did you pluck up the courage to tell Aunt Agatha?
That was tough.
One night, after I had cooked her supper, I went upstairs and packed the few things I possessed in a cardboard box and came downstairs and announced I was leaving.
I've rented a house, I said.
Well done, you.
So you're free at last.
I think you're so brave, Miss Honey.
Not really, Matilda.
I like it.
It's better this way.
This awful aunt.
I suppose she's still living in your lovely old house.
Very much so.
She's only about fifty.
She'll be around for a long time yet.
But do you think your father really meant her to have it?
I'm quite sure he didn't.
But my father's will was never found.
It looks as though somebody destroyed it.
No prizes for guessing who.
No prizes, but if there's no will miss honey.
Then surely the house goes automatically to you.
You are the next of kin.
I know matilda, but my aunt produced a piece of paper, supposedly written by my father, saying that he leaves the house to her in return for her kindness.
I'm certain it's a forgery, but no one can prove it.
Oh, couldn't you try?
Couldn't you hire a good lawyer and try?
I don't have the money to do that.
And you must understand that my Aunt Agatha is a much respected figure in the community.
Oh.
She has a lot of influence.
But where is the house?
It's the Red House, Matilda.
Down the lane in the village.
The Red House?
But we know who lives in that house.
We do.
So your Aunt Agatha... Your Aunt Agatha is...
It is... Miss Trunchbull.
Miss Trunchbull?
Magnus!
I had the name of Miss Honey's father spinning around in my brain when I went home that evening.
Soon a plan was forming in my head.
For the next week, every evening after school, I shut myself in my bedroom and practiced my newfound art of moving things.
I practiced with one of my father's cigars.
It demanded a great deal of patience and concentration.
Gradually, I discovered that I could pull and push the cigar just by using my eyes.
It was vital that I learned how to lift it.
After six days and a lot of practice, I managed to lift the cigar and hold it in the air for at least a minute.
And six days later, I found that I was able to make the cigar do exactly what I wanted.
All I had to do now was to put the plan into action.
