Lola joined them for breakfast dragging the Colonel by his hand.
"Join us Colonel. I'm sorry we haven't got the dining room set up yet," Georgina said.
Lola looked at Reggie, she was squirming.
"How many?" she said.
"Three."
Everyone but the Colonel laughed. Reggie had been physically behind the lens and had witnessed their tryst.
While the girls were laughing the Colonel whispered to Roger, "I say old boy, it's a mistake to let 'the girl' run the show. She's only a woman."
Before Roger could intervene the Colonel had a lap-full of tea, which was fortunately tepid.
"Oops sorry," Lola said working hard to suppress a laugh.
"Let me help you," Reggie said, as she accidentally elbowed the old boy in the eye.
"Reggie, don't be careless," said Brielle, as she mopped his lap and tipped the rest of the jam to join the tea.
The Colonel stared hard at Georgina.
"Well?" he said.
"Well what Colonel?"
"If you're planning on joining these strumpets better do it before I clean up."
"Oh no Colonel, I'm only a woman," Georgina said, successfully imitating his comment.
Roger manged to keep a straight face, "My goddesses are emancipated by their skill and courage, they will not be disparaged by anyone. Nor will I allow them to be demeaned."
The Colonel who had scraped most of the jam from his lap, straightened his back.
"Quite so, sorry Lad. I'm sorry gal and goddesses."
If he was surprised by their initial action he was more so now, the girls snuggled around him. Being fussed over by three beautiful women quite pleased the Colonel. Even though they shared their breakfast with his trousers he promised to refer as many of his friends and associates as he could.
"I'll see you out Colonel before they gang up on you again."
"Quite so, lad."
"We shouldn't really send our members away with damp trousers," Roger said on his return.
"I thought we had to share fluids?" Reggie said.
"Erotic, not tea, jam and elbows."
Georgina changed the subject.
"Reggie, are your prints dry?"
Reggie just stood from the table and disappeared. She returned shortly with a handful of prints.
"I like this one the best," she said, as she handed the photo to Georgina.
"So do I Darling, this is beautiful."
She passed it around the table, to gasps and giggles.
"That's the Aphrodite position," Lola said, with a smile that was bigger than her face.
Roger expected anything but what he saw, he understood the reaction the photo had gained. It failed as pornography but excelled as pure art.
"That isn't the way that extortion is supposed to work," Roger said. "Most men who saw that photo would want to buy it. Do you have anything a bit... pornographic?"
Reggie thumbed through the remaining prints.
"Here!" she said. "Is this more suitable for extortion?"
She passed it to Roger.
"Is this to most base you have?"
Reggie nodded, then glanced guiltily at Georgina.
"I'm sorry Georgina."
Roger quickly moved to undo the damage before Georgina attacked him.
"Reggie, you are too skilled for this work. I wish I had your talent."
He passed the photo to Georgina. It was definitely pornographic, the Colonel was rutting Lola doggy style, it was their first encounter and was pure sex.
"Reggie, you capture the emotion of the moment. We could extort with that but it too, is art," Georgina said.
Reggie had captured the carnal look on Wilson's face. He was reaching greedily for Lola's breast. Lola tongue was licking her lip in anticipation.
"But, are they OK?" Reggie asked, with a little more confidence.
Brielle had taken the wad of photos and passed them around, there were gasps from everyone, most of them from Lola. She stood, walked to Reggie and pulled her to her body.
"Reggie, they are beautiful."
Lola had too many scars to weakly show emotion, she hoped that no one saw her tear.
β<~>β
Georgina returned from an afternoon and evening handing out business cards to girls on the street who looked hungry and cold. She returned alone Roger was staying at his club.
"How did it go?" Brielle asked, she had lived that life and was pleased that Georgina had decided to staff the Hogarth Club with girls selling themselves to avoid starvation.
Georgina sighed, the look in the faces she had seen today ranged from fear and desperation to feral confidence it was a visual lexicon of a slide from innocence to immorality. She had seen hope in so few faces.
Reggie was the first to get to Georgina and pull her into an embrace but only just. Cosseted by her coterie Georgina had never felt more loved.
"I'm OK," she said, brushing away the tear which had caused the show of solidarity.
"How can society allow this to happen?" she asked.