At 12:30 p.m. Emily, Sansa and Sushila arrive in a single car driven by Sudesh with Nilesh in the front passenger seat. The 3 branch officers are there again to assist them from the car, welcome them and escort them into the mansion which seems to be the only promising building suitable for use as the branch brothel and may present the first stumbling block to the project in Kolkata. They enter the ante-room where they are greeted by the other members of the executive committee and introduced to each of them. It being after noon drinks are served and the 3 ladies opt for a tonic water with soda.
The small talk makes it clear that the executive committee is completely on board and that their discourse with the 3 branch officers had been relayed to them. They are on tenterhooks awaiting an indication of the building intended for the ladies but allow events to take their course. The gong is sounded for luncheon and the ladies are formally escorted into the dining room where the liveried staff stand ready behind the 12 chairs. The Chairman and Emily are seated at the head of the table, the Secretary and Sushila are seated in the first 2 seats along one side of the table and Sansa and the Treasurer are seated in the first 2 seats on the other side. The remaining seats are occupied by the other members of the executive committee.
A cream of asparagus soup is served and the conversation commences. The Chairman tells the 3 ladies that the branch currently has a total of 30 members including the 12 here present. He goes on the say that they are honoured to have 30 active registered ladies and asks what the ladies think of the balance between the sexes. With a smile she simply says: "Perfect! On board Bangkok Girl during the cruise that has just ended, we had 40 club members and 40 ladies in the newly expanded and refurbished brothel. The ladies work in 2 shifts which alternate every hour so that the off-duty ladies can shower and change and then relax in the ladies' lounge, where fresh food & refreshments are constantly available. The brothel is open for 12 hours from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Therefore ladies can entertain up to 6 gentlemen per day. I am happy to report that the ladies were so happy with their working conditions that they opted to become permanent staff and remain to live and work on board Bangkok Girl. To end rather a long answer, a balance of 1 to 1 works perfectly on board, hence my answer of 'Perfect' to the question". There is an unexpected round of applause which the Chairman explains is due to some recent additional ladies joining the branch.
The first course is cleared from the table and a cold collation served as the main course.
Sansa judges that is the perfect moment to ask where the ladies reside when not engaged in club activities. The Secretary answers the question by referring to the infamous but now famous 6 ladies of the Ranchi branch and the cause of their unhappiness. Since then the branch has held weekly meetings which gives a more regular employment and enabled their ladies to earn four times the income, i.e. US$20,000 per month. Now it is the 3 ladies' turn to applaud the executive committee for its positive response. Emily notes that Sansa's question wasn't answered, but puts it down to the Secretary's enthusiasm side-tracking him. The Treasurer says in answer to the specificity of Sansa's question that their ladies mostly live at home and travel to the estate for meetings. The desire is to house all their ladies within the mansion and the estate. The 3 ladies smile and nod their agreement. Conversion continues on diverse subjects as the main course is cleared and a mixed dessert is served.
The Chairman asks if the 3 ladies will consent to a guided tour of the mansion to assess its suitability to provide a home for the 30 ladies and the ground floor to continue to be used for weekly club meetings but the remainder of the time to be available for the pleasure of their ladies. Emily speaks on Sansa and Sushila's behalf when she thanks the gentlemen for their kind invitation and says that there is nothing that would give them greater pleasure. The tables are cleared and coffee served with les petits fours. The Chairman apologises that his question is premature but asks if the branch is moving along the right lines. It is both surprising and unexpected that their approbation is being sought, but keen to encourage them to continue their excellent progress she says that the ladies are delighted that the branch has obviously been proactive in a positive way.
Rising from luncheon the ladies ask to be excused to refresh themselves and are delighted when the 3 gentlemen offer to pesonally show them the way to the ladies' rest room instead of getting a servant to undertake the task. In the rest room they don't need to whisper as their delight in the proceedings so far has already been expressed. They do whisper, while running water to wash their hands, that the financial independence of the ladies and the funding of their living expenses remain to be agreed.
Emerging smiling from the rest room, the gentlemen stand from their seats across the hall. They rejoin the rest of the executive committee and the Chairman reveals that the gentlemen currently living in the mansion will be moving out into another of Emily's properties on the estate if she permits and that the male staff will be replaced by a female staff, making the whole mansion a 'ladies only' building except when the ladies are pleased to invite the club members for a 'traditional celebration'. Sansa expresses their delight at the proposal and asks on their behalf if the executive committee might consider the adoption of the brothel uniform worn on Bangkok Girl, which she describes in detail. Sushila adds that having experienced being naked at club meetings, all 3 of them feel more attractive and sexier in the outfit described. The response is an immediate: "Yes please!"
They are conducted on a tour of the 50 luxury suites in the mansion. Curiously the layout of each mirrors the suite that each of the ladies lived in when the Mistress of their Delhi club officer. The Chairman suggests that Emily and her ladies might wish to use the suites from time to time when in Kolkata. Emily thanks him for the attractive offer, which is enhanced by the evident high security on the estate and promises that she will discuss it with all her female staff, when they have arrived back in Delhi, meanwhile they are already staying in the penthouse of Emily's Best Erotic Marigold Hotel of Delhi.
They return to the ground floor and enter a sumptuous lounge where they take tea and the Chairman asks if the have any further questions. Emily thanks the Chairman and says there are some other points that they would like to discuss. The first regards the ladies' living expenses, such as meals, electricity, etc. in the mansion. The Treasurer asks the ladies' forgiveness for the apparent oversight and says that all those expenses will be covered by the branch as part of the overall expenses in the running of the complete estate.
The 3 ladies nod their agreement and Emily expresses their thanks. Her next question is with regard to the financial independence of the ladies. She explains that both she and Sushila are lawyers and it could be argued that they are specialists in the law on prostitution. The law is clear that practising prostitution is legal, however related activities such as pimping & pandering, soliciting in a public place, practising prostitution in a hotel, and owning or managing a brothel are all illegal activities and subject to prosecution with penalties varying from fines to prison sentences. Even running a temporary brothel as all club branches have been doing, renders the officers of that club liable to prosecution. The gentlemen all look stunned having previously thought that a private club would be exempt.
Emily suggests that making the ladies financially independent prostitutes is legal, provided that they do not solicit in a public place and the said act of prostitution doesn't occur in a hotel. To enable their independence they need: 1. To have the US$1,000 payment for the night to be made directly to her by the client (increasing the ladies income to approximately US$30,000 per month, 2. For the bedroom suite to be leased to her as legitimate accommodation by a subsidiary of my hotel group at an monthly rent of US$1,000, 3. For each lady to invite only one paid client to the club meeting, 4. For each lady to set up a business account linked to a card payment terminal operated by a business smartphone, 5. That each lady pays the proper amount of income tax on her income as a self-employed person (the continuation of her ability to lease a suite in the mansion will be dependent that she does). The benefits will be, apart from removal of the worry of prosecution: removal of both the cost and administration of ladies (the register of ladies to be destroyed a.s.a.p.), and the need to recruit and train replacements. As you have indicated, the living expenses of the ladies can be lost in the estate accounts. Finally, the fact that all the ladies fill out an annual tax return and pay the correct tax is further evidence that they are operating within the law, hence the condition that their monthly lease in the mansion is conditional on this point.
The executive committee seem to recover themselves as they grasp the lifeline of Emily's safeguards. She asks if they would like the ladies to leave so they can consider the details outlined among themselves. The Chairman looks to each member in turn who indicate that is not necessary and he asks them to raise their hands if in favour of acceptance of all the points raised. Every hand is raised and the ladies can almost hear the collective sigh of relief. The ladies express their need to return to the hotel to prepare for dinner and the Chairman asks if it would help if their evening appointment was delayed by an hour. The ladies nod with a smile and the 3 branch officers escort them to their waiting car.