Oh I do love the end of this, very creepy.

Small nitpick, I do believe the title should be spelled “Defense”.

Thank you very much!

As for the nitpick, I’m afraid you are utterly mistaken. :P

Oh God, it’s like the three minute intro in the beginning of each CSI! Sweet! What would Grissom say? :B

Great word choices, I had not heard the word “miasma” in a long time.

It’s amazing. ‘Defence’ – are you a fellow Brit?
I think it’s all absolutely stunning, except the last line. Somehow it felt wrong, as if the continuity of the final words diminish the meaning of the finality of Mary’s fate.

I can’t tell if you’re going for historical accuracy or not. If not, why use the “Typhoid Mary” moniker. If so, why give her symptoms of Typhoid?

No historical accuracy intended – it was actually inspired by my local fantasy role-playing group. I was using ‘Typhoid Mary’ in the general sense of “healthy carrier of a dangerous disease, especially one that refuses to cooperate with health authorities to minimize the risk of infection” (thank you, wikipedia), except in this case she wasn’t all that healthy.