It had been a hectic week, to say the least.
In those seven short days, Kalispell’s premier (and only) House of Ill Repute had undergone a complete paradigm shift. Not that any of the staff of that establishment knew what a paradigm was (one of them guessed that it was a form of birth control) even the surprisingly well educated (for a trollop) Mrs Rosenkrantz wouldn't have recognised the term. But that is what had happened.
The week’s calendar might well be summarised thus:
Tuesday 6th March: ‘Sad’ Annie Hayden murdered in her bedroom/place of work .
Wednesday 7th March: Miss Tilly Burke and Mrs Hettie Rosenkranz successfully sell Mrs Sally Adams’ knocking shop to Mr Elias Steelgrave.
Thursday 8th March: Money and Contracts change hands (but not with Sally Adams)
Friday 9th March: Hettie suggests to Mrs Adams that she might find it more peaceful to move out of the place to a quiet little house near the church after the recent tragic events. She wouldn’t find out for 6 weeks that she’d been bilked by those two coniving hussies in her employ. Tragically, that was the very same day she happened to be murdered by that rascally old Kalispell Strangler. Such is fate).
Saturday 10th March – Monday 12th March: Operation clean up, and the usual medical inspection by Dr. Danforth.
Tuesday 13th March: Visit to Pettigrew’s to update Miss Burke’s wardrobe.
Wednesday 14th March: The new owner visits his purchase.
Of course, the hardest thing of all had been trying to recruit new staff. Annie’s death had left a hole in the ranks that would be hard to fill. Hettie would just have to wing that one for now, but she did have an idea.
The time was nigh.
The knock sounded.
Hettie swept to the door as Lars, their bouncer, opened the iniquitous portal and Nancy Jane, their black maid-of-all-work, bobbed a curtsey.
“Oh, Mister Steelgrave! Do, DO come in. Welcome to your new domain, Boss! Oh, is it all right to call you that? Or do you prefer 'Mister Steelgrave' or plain old 'Sir'? Your wish is our command! Miss Burke is just through here and is just so beside herself to see you again, Mister Steelgrave!” Hettie gushed, leading Elias through to the opulent looking main reception room, where horny, fidgity guests were sometimes seated to wait their turn on busy nights.
But tonight the place was closed to everybody but the new proprietor.
Having never been to the establishment, he was impressed by the way everything looked in what would be the parlor. One thing struck his eye: there needed to be a bar. A full bar. Men waiting needed to be buying drinks for the girls and for themselves. They didn't need to overcharge for them, not at all, in fact, to his way of thinking, they could undercut the Stardust Saloon and that would be a draw, aside from the girls.
"Looks real good, Hettie. I'm thinking, what we need in here is a bar, a full bar, and undercut the saloon's prices while we're at it." He said, vocalizing his thoughts, and they sounded even better out loud. "What do you think of that?" He asked, actually wanting her opinion. "Maybe we could expand. Bring in some girls from the east. I'm afraid finding girls around here might be slim to none." He chuckled, "I had this plan to build a saloon and brothel, now I have half of that idea. The Stardust is not actually a threat to us, and we are not a threat to them, just competitors, you might say."
The original plan of his had suddenly become feasible. What with the ongoing mining operations in the area, more men were coming into the country, which meant men with money to spend. Men who were lonely and wanted some female company, if only for a few moments of pleasure. Yes, a high-end place that served both the gentlemen and the working man as well.
"I was born the day after Valentine's, but I don't guess I'll ever find a valentine of my own."
Tilly, resplendent in a new sage green dress from Mr. Pettigrew, rose from a plush armchair as Hettie and Elias entered, but let them have a moment to take in the parlor and listen in on their conversation.
She didn't expect much from this visit, seeing as how it had only been a week since their first encounter with the brothel's new owner and she assumed his heart was still not quite where it ought to be if he wanted a real taste of what the brothel offered. If this was a more surface-level visit, so be it. She could still practice her charms on Elias. But at the same time, she was prepared if Mr. Steelgrave did happen to want a more thorough sample of his new domain.
Seizing the lull after Elias's question to Hettie, she swished her way over to her new business partners. "Mr. Steelgrave, so good to see you again," she said with a curtsey. "I think a bar would be a sure way to get more men in the doors." She didn't voice her hesitation about the addition of a bar, which was that adding booze into the mix might bring out the more violent element in some of their clientele. Having dealt with that in previous places of work, she wasn't sure about going back to it.
Mister Steelgrave seemed to be more interested in interior renovations and the provision of alcoholic beverages than the flesh and blood offerings of his new establishment, and Tilly very deftly chimed in "I think a bar would be a sure way to get more men in the doors."
Hettie beamed a genuine smile at the Burke girl, she really did look stunning tonight in the that dress. She hoped that Steelgrave would pay her more attention than the motley pair of girls she had assembled to make the place look better staffed. She'd positioned them sitting over by the wall and given both of them strict instructions not to speak to their distinguished visitor unless spoken to.
The first was a somewhat terrified sunburned malnourished looking girl of indeterminate age whose skinny frame made all the more obvious the slight bump showing under her dowdy homespun smock - Hettie would soon deal with that inconvenience - the second was, to put it bluntly, Raymond Matthews, the undertaker's assistant, whom Hettie had roped in to service a certain client when the lad was desperate for funds last year and who, with a red dress, padded corsets, black wig and a ton of lipstick powder and paint, made a more attractive girl than most of the real females in town, and certainly looked more at home in this tawdry place than the other girl.
It wasn't great, but the two of them gave the appearance, at least, of a lively business to the new purchaser.
"Oh, that's Lottie, she's fresh off the pumpkin cart, I'm training her up" Hettie smiled ingratiatingly to Steelgrave "... and that's Ramona, she's a sort of, er, specialist. She's got a certain something the other girl's can't offer..." she let it go at that and prayed to God that if Elias did want to sample the goods tonight, he's go for the delicious Tilly Burke.
She suddenly realised, with a start, that 'Ramona', with her raven-black tresses, possessed a passing resemblance to Leah Steelgrave: well, surely that should put the old man off her. Hopefully. If not, he might get a nasty surprise.
Ramona and Lottie: both carried 'extra freight'
@[Flip]
"Ladies. Now, about ladies." He began, "We may want to spice the place up some. I have contacts in both New Orleans and Kansas City who can ship out some fresh talent, you might say. Maybe a black, or an oriental. Depends, of course, on what can be obtained through both would be in good supply, I believe.. Not that the girls we have are not suitable, far from it, but Hettie dear, we are upgrading a bit. I suspect, however, that Tilly Burke would not remain as the star attraction." She was truly beautiful.
He did a double-take of the black-haired girl, a bit overly made up, but that was sometimes necessary. He noted a vague resemblance to his own daughter, whom he had forcefully deflowered, but not nearly enough to raise his interest.
"Yes, a bar in here is a necessity, and that will call for an experienced barman. I believe I have just the man for the job. He would help bolster the security of the place. After the unfortunate business of the strangulation, we will ensure that access to the outhouse will be monitored at all times." He promised. This was after all business. Protecting the product was vastly more important than anything else. "Now, ladies, you are excused, except for Tilly and Hettie, of course." He waited until the other two had left the room before continuing.
"Rule one, violence on our girls will not be tolerated. I know that some men think they have the right to beat or cut or otherwise hurt these girls. Not so in this house. The man will be apprehended by our men and taken to the Marshal's office. Charges will be filed, and the man will be banned from our operation." He paused, "Drunkenness will not be tolerated either, we will be raising the stakes here, and customers will act accordingly or find another outlet. Hopefully, you will be in agreement with these changes."
"I was born the day after Valentine's, but I don't guess I'll ever find a valentine of my own."
Tilly inclined her head slightly in a silent acknowledgment of Steelgrave's compliment, although inside she was quite pleased that he saw her as the star attraction. True, Hettie had introduced her that way, but it was always quite nice to have some outside validation.
It was good that he was thinking ahead on this. Forward thinking was just what the brothel needed, both in terms of working girls and security. And he was quite forward-thinking in his policies about how the customers should behave. Tilly reached out to touch Elias's arm, her relief bubbling out in a flood of words.
"Oh, those changes are most agreeable. And really not changes at all. In a perfect world, we'd have been operating that way all along. But as you know, Mr. Steelgrave, this isn't a perfect world. We haven't been able to enforce the way we'd like the place run. Lars is a dear, but he can only be so many places at once. But now that we have you and your help..." She leaned in a little closer. "...things will be different."
"Things will be different here in this house and on this property. There'll be no chance for anyone to sneak in like the killer did, and no allowing any violence on our women working here, this will be a highclass whore house, l;ike it was meant to be. I'll see to that, Tilly." Elias promised, "There wioll be the money for the upgrades to the place, better pay, better food, and unwatered whiskey. But I can't abide any of the help getting drunk on the job, that is not why we're here."
He grinned a knowing grin, "Better working conditions, guaranteed!"
He grinned a knowing grin, "Better working conditions, guaranteed!"
"I'll drink to that! And not with any watered down drain-water from the Stardust, the real McCoy! What can I fix you, Mister S?" Hettie smiled, waltzing to the drinks cabinet.
She waved airily to the wall.
"You know next door is for sale? You could snap it up for a bargain and knock through if you really wanna make this place something!" she suggested.
She had always been made to feel like a pariah at the Stardust, unwelcome didn't begin to describe it: she embraced Steelgrave's vision for this place. But she didn't see it quite like him. He thought the new improved cathouse would compliment the Stardust's services: she was determined to grind the place into... well, forget the 'Star' part... just dust.
@[Flip]
"Thank you, no. Taking it easy, the ticker and all, but this next door you mentioned, now that sounds like an expansion possibility. We could open up a regular bar, and then we could offer gambling, maybe serve real food as well." He said in response to the alert on the open building."
"What do you ladies think of that idea?" He asked, soliciting their opinion. They were in this as well, best they had a say, he figured. In his mind, he visualized what the building looked like and what he could turn it into. The idea of not so long ago was becoming a reality without his doing any more than signing a few papers and spending a bit of money.
@Bailey
@Javia
"I was born the day after Valentine's, but I don't guess I'll ever find a valentine of my own."
Aha. Tilly noted Steelgrave's refusal of a drink. If Steelgrave wasn't drinking tonight, chances were he wouldn't be going upstairs with her, at least not for any other reason than to see what improvements might be made to his new property. But where his heart might be giving him trouble, his brain was taking Hettie's suggestion and going along with it. And he wanted Hettie's opinion, and her own.
Tilly took a moment to string words together in a way she hoped would make sense to the cattle baron, then cleared her throat daintily. "Mr. Steelgrave, I'm flattered that you're asking me, but I really don't have a head for business besides -- well, my business. If you tell us we're adding gambling, drinks, and food to what we offer, then that's that. I bet I could sell drinks just as well as Caroline Mundee can. My main concern is the safety any girls who work here, and you've put that concern to rest."
She paused and glanced up to see how her words were landing, adding with a smile, "If you really want an opinion from me, I'll make something up."