Inky, LeFay is a reference to Morgan LeFay, I believe; so it implies Mrs. LeFay had fairy blood (or other non human blood). The way Lewis describes her, prefigures his description of Mr. Cornelius in Prince Caspian, who was half dwarf.
Okay, here is my son Aaron's summary of the LeFay Fragment that he got to read in one of Lewis's own notebooks at the Wade Center at Wheaton College:
The Lefay fragments were from one of Lewis' notebook. They were composed sometime before June 14, 1949, when Lewis read them to Roger Lancelyn Green, and they formed part of a prequel to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (is the Oxford comma correct in the title?). It's about two chapters (27 handwritten pages) and contains many details that were folded into other books.
Digory, an orphan, lives with his aunt Gertrude, who “became a schoolteacher so she could bully the pupils, then became a headmistress so she could bully the schoolteachers, [became a district administrator] so she could bully the headmistresses, and then she was appointed minister of something or other in parliament and bullied everbody.” (She became the schoolmistress in Silver chair). NB: I read the manuscript almost exactly a week ago, so my quotations are not verbatim, but as close as I can recall. Fortunately, because Digory's aunt is always out doing parliamentary things, his life is not so bad. The servant Cook has been a part of the family for years and is nice to him, and although Aunt Gertrude dislikes Cook, she cannot fire her because no one would willingly work for her (I would bet good money that one of the events later in the story, had it been continued, would have been Cook getting fired, right before Digory hits rock bottom). Digory occupies his time, when he's not in school, with going down to the woods on his Aunt's property, where Digory talks to the trees and the animals. Oak is his solid and steady best friend, Birch is a mercurial dancer, I don't recall Elm's personality, and Pattertwig is a frenetic squirrel.
Much evidence is given for how carefully Digory hides his unique talent because he's tired of meeting with disbelief. One day, as he's sitting on Oak's shoulders and talking to Pattertwig, he is seen by a girl he'd never seen before. Polly introduces herself (the dialogue is almost word for word as it is in The Magician's Nephew, minus the bit about crying), and Digory tells a fib to explain what he was doing. Polly wants to build a raft, and persuades Digory to assist her in cutting off one of Oak's branches for a mast. His desire to be liked is overrides his love for his happy tree friends, and he saws off one of Oak's branches. (something about the style or the setting makes this whole piece feel more like a Nesbit book, or an Edward Eager book than a Narnia book).
End Chapter 1.
Chapter 2 begins with Aunt Gertrude informing Digory that his godmother, Mrs. Lefay, is oming to visit. This surprises Digory as he had never heard of his Godmother. Aunt Gertrude gives a very nice demonstration of the teaching style Lewis critiqued in the experimental school in The Silver Chair. Paraphrasing heavily: “I'll not tell you what she's like, because I want you to think for your self,” his aunt said, “but if you observe me carefully, I'm sure you'll see why I think she's rude, unmannered, and slovenly.” While waiting for Mrs. Lefay to arrive, Digory discovers that his treespeak is gone. Heartbroken, he comes back inside to await Mrs. Lefay.
Mrs. Lefay turns out to be the “Fattest and shortest” woman Digory had ever seen (perhaps dwarven?). Her black dress is covered in yellowish dust that she claims is snuff (perhaps a precursor to the dust in The Magician's Nephew?). She gives a pretty good Mary Poppins impression until Aunt Gertrude leaves, when she then reveals that she knows about Digory's loss, and hints that there might be redemption. In her words “You [Digory] look exactly what Adam must have looked like, five minutes after he'd been turned out of the Garden of Eden,” (65). (I copied this one down the day of, so I know it's accurate).
End Chapter 2, and the fragment.
Thoughts:
I don't think this would have worked as a Narnia story. The plot seems very England-centered at this time, and it may perhaps have worked out as a Magician's Nephew-style story where they actively hop from world to world, but the opening conflict in the fragments are rooted firmly in England, unlike Polly's vanishing act in Magician's. It's still a nice premise, and I can see it working out like the end of The Horse and his Boy, with Aslan telling everybody what would have happened if they'd done the right thing, but it wouldn't have made a good Narnia story.
Sources:
I got everything from the Wade Center at Wheaton College.
The history of the Lefay Fragments came from C.S. Lewis: Companion and Guide by Walter Hooper (around page 403, I believe).
The Lefay Fragments are reproduced in Hooper's Past Watchful Dragons.
I read the fragments in a facsimile of C.S. Lewis' Notebooks, specifically MS-199, pages 41-68.
