"Good afternoon, Doctor Jesper."

 

"Ahh, Ditta! My favourite patient." The mesmerist bowed deeply. "Please, take a seat. Be comfortable."

 

Ditta sat at the edge of the familiar chaise longue. "I am relieved you could see me on short notice, Doctor. The mare has returned."

 

"Ah, yes." The doctor puffed reflectively on his pipe.

 

"You said I would be cured after last week's session." Ditta cocked her head. "Perhaps my faith in your methods has been... misplaced?"

 

The doctor's moustache curled fiendishly when he grinned. "Not at all, dearest Ditta. If anything, my approach was perhaps too subtle."

 

Ditta's heart raced. "What do you propose, Doctor Jesper?"

 

"The Mare is guiding you in one direction, and our treatment has attempted to rein her in. This course of action has been ineffectual, as you say. Instead, we must provoke the efforts of Nature. Rather than drawing you away from the Mare, we must push you forward, into her lair. You must surrender yourself."

 

"But Doctor!" Ditta clutched at her breast. "I could do no such thing. Her ways are sordid and sinful."

 

"Yes," Doctor Jesper agreed. "And if you wish to be rid of her, you must submit."