Sentence:  Not unnaturally, "Auntie" took this communication in bad part. Thus outraged, she showed herself to be a bold as well as a furious virago. Next day she found her way to their lodgings and tried to <WSD>recover</WSD> her ward by the hair of the head. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To get back, regain (a physical thing lost etc.).