Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde rewritten Ch. 03
3. The session with Lady Summers Lady Luise F. W. Summers, a former German marchioness who had married into English nobility, was a small widow of forty-nine, but blessed with a prolonged youthfulness. She was pale, with yellow hair, blue eyes and delicate features. She had a faintly lisping, sweet and mellow voice that made even a harsh language like German sound pleasant. And while many ladies envied her for that, everyone agreed that she was quite a strange person. Fascinating, yes, but strange.
Lady Summers rarely left her house during daylight, unless it was necessary, and employed an unusual set of foreign servants she had brought from her world journeys. There was an air of reliability and sincerity about her and her eyes had a glint of knowing. She had an unnatural, most peculiar ability she earned her livelihood with: she was a telepath, someone who could read other people's minds. Even the staunchest sceptics were convinced after meeting her just once. Being Prussian, she was sober, outspoken and unladylike, sometimes even brash. Nevertheless, she was well-liked and not in want of paying clients. People enjoyed her impartiality and worldly charm, her undefinable sadness and tolerance. “Whatever dark secrets people come to me with”, she used to say, “It's likely that I have seen or heard worse.” Utterson had known her for almost twenty years and at this point had no more reason to doubt her. And so it came that on this cold, rainy Sunday, he was hurrying through the streets to her residence. Lady Summers lived in a magnificent house, not far from where Utterson had met Hyde, in fact. It was easily recognisable by the white and dark blue facade and the brass plate at the door that said: Lady L. F. W. Summers Honorary member of the Society of Psychical Research Consulting telepath and cert. therapist Consultation hours: Monday to Friday: 8 – 12 o'clock, 15 – 19 o'clock Saturday and Sunday: 10 – 12 o'clock, 15 – 17 o'clock Appointments are to be made in advance. When the lawyer arrived at the house, the door was opened and he was let in by an Indian butler. “Good morning, Mr. Utterson”, the man said politely, “Milady is already waiting for you.” “Thank you, Mr. Singh”, the older man replied politely, allowed the Indian to help him out of his coat and guide him to the Lady's salon. She was sitting in her rocking chair, wearing her usual mourning attire and melancholy smile. She stood up to greet her visitor. “Utterson! It's been a while since our last meeting. Welcome!”, she greeted heartily. “Good morning. Thank you for sparing time for me, Lady Summers”, he replied. “Take a seat”, she offered the lawyer and turned to her butler. “Sameer, tell Aoimoku, that Mr. Utterson wants Darjeeling today, with milk. As for me, mint tea with a spoonful of honey, please.” The butler nodded and left. Utterson didn't even bother asking how she could tell what tea he wanted. The Lady sat back down opposite him and wasted no time in small talk, before she cut straight to the point. “Almost ten hours ago, you called me because you stumbled upon something disturbing, as you said on the telephone. I assume you want to recount it, before I add the missing details myself and get a better picture?” Gladly the black-haired older man took the offer and recounted for her what he had witnessed during the last weeks: his conversation with Enfield, his search for Mr. Hyde and his first encounter with the young man. Meanwhile he caught a bright flash run across the mentalist's eyes, indicating that she was reading his mind, probably to get a physical image of the man who was repulsing him so. (Utterson couldn't help but think about how Hyde's cold, bilious green eyes were such a sharp contrast to the calm, ice blue ones of Lady Summers.) Then she frowned. “Oh dear. That looked disturbing indeed. I can see why you're so worried for Dr. Jekyll. That Mr. Hyde doesn't exactly look like someone I would go through a dark street with. You're going to meet the doctor again soon, aren't you? See what information you can gather from him and if you can find out why he seems to be so attached to him. Tell me about his behaviour the next time you come here. That being out of the way …” She leaned back in her rocking chair. “Do what you came for.” A few minutes later found him sobbing in Lady Summers' lap and the Prussian patting his head. Two hours later he went home, tired and emotionally drained. He was still upset, both at himself and at the situation, but he felt a little relieved. It was good to confide in someone who didn't judge. From the window of her room Lady Luise F. W. Summers watched the lawyer leave. “Poor man”, she muttered, “I don't want to be in his shoes.” She really wanted to meet this Dr. Jekyll and give him a piece of her mind. And, of course, find out, who on earth this Mr. Hyde was.
(A/N: We meet my first and primary female OC, Lady Luise F. W. Summers, a consulting telepath and [kind of] conversational therapist, long before that even was a thing. XD If you're wondering why anyone would even believe her without a doubt, back in the late Victorian Age, spiritualism and stuff like that was very popular [even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a fan]. So Lady Summers wouldn't have had that many sceptics to deal with. Btw, Aoimoku is her lady-in-waiting. The name is Japanese for "blue eyes". I'll explain more in a later chapter.)
