‘A few of my exes did that all right.’ I thought of Richard and hoped that it wasn’t going to turn out to be him.

‘If you did go ahead with a regression and remembered something from Grace and Billy’s time, that might help you recognize him.’

‘That’s what I wondered. I mean, the Internet can come up with birth or death certificates and census records, but what do they really prove? Nothing. But if memories of another time are still inside me, as you said, as part of my soul’s journey, if I remembered being Grace, then that would convince me more than any census record or piece of old documentation.’

‘Possibly, but regression isn’t for everyone, only if it’s appropriate and comes up spontaneously in a session. It can’t be forced. The unconscious mind tends to throw up what is most useful to us, and that might not be going back to another life.’

‘Does anyone ever go back and then get stuck there?’

‘No. There’s no danger of that.’

‘So what do you do?’

‘A past life session is similar to what we did last time, but I would guide you to go back to certain key points in your life, to see if we can determine at what points the negative patterns began. With you, we’d try to identify where the belief about love that you carry has come from, and then reprogramme it to something more positive. But each session is different, just as each person who comes here is an individual. I can’t guarantee anything but, if you’re willing, we can see what happens.’

I took a deep breath. It felt daring to be trying something so new and different to anything I’d done before. I almost laughed as the theme tune to Star Trek played in my head along with the voiceover – about going boldly where no man had gone before. When we were fifteen, Marcia had a pair of knickers with the line embroidered on them. She got me a pair too, though – because I was still a virgin – mine said ‘The Final Frontier’, with an arrow pointing down.

‘I think I’d like to try.’

‘Well, we can see where this session takes us but, as I said, it will only happen if it’s going to be useful and the time is right. Your unconscious mind and higher self will decide that and you can trust them.’

‘Can you bring me back at any point if I don’t like it?’ Despite my curiosity, I felt a rush of anxiety. Did I really know what I was letting myself in for? No. And, despite having read up about Simon, I hardly knew him.