Maharani Bk. 01 Ch. 01

(This story is a lesbian continuation of the 45 chapter saga: Love & Prostitution. Emily & Sansa continue to be the protagonists. As a brief reminder, Emily takes the lead in business matters and Sansa takes the lead in everything else. This is a fairly long & detailed opening chapter, setting the scene and introducing the main characters.)

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Sansa and I have contracted to purchase Maharani, a new build luxury superyacht, at a cost of £189 million. We sit down with Nilesh & Sudesh, our trusted Personal Security Officers (PSOs), to inform them of our new venture. Maharani will be a 'ladies only' environment so we assure them of our continuing need for their excellent services because nothing will change with our existing ventures. They understand and ask if they may find suitable female PSOs for us. Sansa and I know that they will only present the best for us to interview, so we readily agree.

Maharani is to be delivered to Kolkata, where we will take possession at the end of next month. She is 110 metres long with a beam of 20 metres, her maximum speed is 21 knots, her cruising speed is 17 knots and her range is about 8,000 miles. In addition to the owners' suite, she can accommodate 36 guests in double staterooms and 46 crew.

Maharani features a large number of onboard spaces, each with their own use and personality, including several living spaces, formal and informal dining areas, gyms and a lavish cinema room. Guest staterooms and accommodation areas have fold out balconies allowing guests to experience being over the water. Large opening superstructure doors also let the light in, ensuring that the yacht is filled with natural light and so guests can feel at one with their beautiful surroundings.

As the first owners, Sansa and I are particularly delighted with our: huge owners suite, owners spa and gym and a secret staircase that leads directly to the vessel's bridge via a large private study (with its own satellite internet & phone).

Maharani is designed to pamper its guests with: a luxury spa complete with steam room, water fountains, saunas, deep relaxation areas, massage rooms, beauty and hair saloons and several different indoor and outdoor work-out spaces. The large infinity pool is on the main aft deck together with jacuzzis and sunbathing hubs over several decks. At sea level there is a huge garage with all the pleasure craft one might desire.

In modern patriarchal India life can be difficult for women, even more so for lesbians. The plan is that Maharani will be, from the very start, a safe space for ladies, including the crew and the security staff. I've been in contact with the Captain of Bangkok Girl and requested his assistance in recruiting female officers and specialists able to provide training for the more inexperienced. He is more than happy to help, Prajna his executive first officer on Bangkok Girl is: experienced, thoroughly competent and has long since achieved her Masters' Certificate, but not yet achieved command of her own vessel. I tell him that we would like to meet her and he agrees to talk to her.

The plan is to model Maharani on our group of Best Erotic Marigold Hotels. Karima, the CEO suggests advertising a 'ladies only' cruise in every hotel, a suggestion we readily agree. The newly independent ladies of the former secret club mansion may turn out to be prospective clients, particularly now that Bangkok Girl's brothel has a happy & loyal staff. Sansa & I plan to use our Learjet to visit each of the 36 cities to meet with the ladies there. As members of the India Flying Club, there may also be lady members, like us, who would appreciate a ladies-only environment.

As in our hotels, we plan to hold lectures and seminars during each cruise and Karima offers to help. Telling me in confidence that she has divorced her cheating husband, in the process totally giving up on men! The inference is that she is of our persuasion. I invite her to visit us in the penthouse when she has time to talk.

The price of the Presidential Suite on the Maharajahs' Railway Express for 7 nights, is just over US$23,700 per person per week. Allowing for the vast spaces inside and out on board Maharani, plus an open bar, we agree to work on a figure of £50,000 per double stateroom per week. The 18 staterooms could provide up to £46,800,000 gross income per annum. Not counting running costs and assuming full occupancy, Maharani could pay for herself in four years.

Karima's visit to the penthouse is most illuminating, she has been thinking about the new venture and would like to help. I tell her that we plan to visit all 36 of the major Best Erotic Marigold Hotels. Karima confesses her interest and asks if she may accompany us on the trip. While we are visiting the ladies of each mansion, she can hold meetings with the management team at each hotel. It seems a capital idea, and we agree. She likes the idea of short notice meetings, hoping she will be able to observe the current situation without the 'polish' allowed by advance notice.

I call the India Flying Cub and a female, by the sound of her voice, answers. I give my name and tell her that I'm a new member and wish to enquire if there is a ladies section. She tells me that there is, the Section Leader is Priyanka Ghosh and she gives me her telephone number. I thank her for the information and make the call. Unexpectedly, she picks up and says: "Hello, this is Priyanka Ghosh. Who is calling please?"

I give her my name and she responds: "A delayed welcome to the India Flying Club Ms Berkshire, I have very much been looking forward to making your acquaintance. How may I assist you?"

Taking a deep breath, I tell her that I am conducting some market research with regard to ladies-only cruising on a luxury superyacht. Her reply takes my breath away: "I wondered when you would give Bangkok Girl a sister vessel! Will it operate on a similar basis but only for ladies? If so, I think, most of the Ladies Section would be interested. The club has over a hundred thousand members throughout India, about a quarter of which are ladies."

I tell her that the final format depends on the results of market research, at the moment we simply have a safe, discreet and luxury 'ladies-only' experience in mind. She asks if Sansa and I would like to meet socially with the Ladies Section of the India Flying Club to discuss the project. I reply that indeed we would. Giggling, she suggests that we should have no difficulty in finding a 5-star hotel and we laugh at her joke. She says that she now has my number and if agreeable, will call me when she has consulted with her members. I agree and tell her I look forward to receiving her call.

A couple of hours later, Priyanka calls to tell me that she sent a group e-mail to all branch leaders of the ladies' section of the India Flying Club describing the project. There are 36 branches of the Ladies Section, i.e. there is a branch in every major city. She also leads the Delhi branch, so she e-mailed the branch members directly. She has already received a positive response from nearly all 504 requesting an early meeting. We agree to try for the following evening. I call Karima and ask if she has a conference room to accommodate 504 available for the evening of the next day. She checks her computer and tells me that she can just about accommodate the numbers. Putting her on hold, I relay the information to Priyanka who asks me to book the room for her. Switching back to Karima's call, I ask her to make the booking.

I call Sushila, our lawyer to tell her about the project. She says that the ladies of each mansion/branch are making a lot of money under the new arrangements and are likely to be very interested. She adds that a large percentage, prefer the social company of women and the cruises might be exactly what they need. I ask if Sansa and I may spend the next 6 weeks visiting each of the mansions to discuss the project with the ladies. She agrees asking if she might sow the seeds for us by leaking a little unattributable information. I think it a capital idea and we agree to visit the Delhi ladies the following afternoon.

We plan our trip to every major city in India, where there is both a Best Erotic Marigold Hotel and a mansion/branch of the former secret club. Sansa suggests we only give fairly short notice of our visit so that when Priyanka Ghosh invites us to meet the members of the Ladies Section of the India Flying Club, we are able to respond quickly. We agree to leave on Monday, giving us time to meet with the Flying Club's Delhi branch ladies before we leave. Karima having already received her briefing.

I call Nila, the Captain of our Learjet and tell her our plans. She is very interested and asks if she & Lalita, the cabin attendant, may attend the meetings with us. I say that they will be very welcome, the first is tomorrow evening. I can't help wondering if Nila & Lalita are a couple. No doubt we'll find out soon enough!

The meeting with the Flying Club's Delhi branch ladies is in the Best Erotic Marigold Hotel of Delhi, our main residence. So at the appointed time, Karima escorts Sansa and me to the bar on the Conference & Seminars floor. There are certainly a great number of ladies present, among them I notice Nila & Lalita, but being recognised by the staff, we are looked after by our own waitress. The waitress looking after Priyanka sees us and escorts her over to make the introductions. The welcomes and greetings completed, the four of us go into the conference rooms, the space seems huge compared with both Bangkok Girl and Maharani. Nine photographs of Maharani are being projected on a continuous loop onto a large screen behind the playroom.

As we chat, the ladies follow us into the rooms and take their seats. The room fills rapidly, so Karima escorts us to the platform and shows us how the microphone works. In case she is needed, she sits with us on the platform. Priyanka speaks first and introduces Sansa, me and Karima. She welcomes everyone to the meeting and wasting no time hands over to me. I too welcome everyone, particularly my life-partner and wife, Sansa. I explain the concept of the project and that Maharani will be a safe ladies-only environment and that includes the officers, the crew and the security staff.

Continuing, I explain that the meeting is part of a Market Research exercise to ensure that the project is targeted at the correct audience with a clear message. Thanking Priyanka for sending out the e-mails to everyone present with a preliminary briefing about the project, I open the meeting for questions, asking that people wishing to contribute to raise their hands and a microphone will be brought to them. Hands shoot up everywhere and the ladies with the microphones select whoever they think was first.

The lady with the microphone stands up and introduces herself clearly. Her question is simple: "Will lesbian couples be welcome on board Maharani?"

With a smile, I answer: "Thank you for your question. As one of the two owners, i.e. Sansa and myself, I sincerely hope so!" The room erupts in laughter. Continuing, I add: "Maharani will be a safe space for ladies, of that there is no doubt. Lesbian couples, who deport themselves with discretion, will be welcomed on board as guests, again there is no doubt about that. The unknowns at this point in time, because the Market Research is only now commencing, are whether the cruises will be only for lesbians. If the research concludes that a females only approach is the favoured option, then there will probably need to be a code of conduct applying to the public areas of the vessel. Would the questioner like to ask a secondary question related to my answer?"

The lady thanks me for the honesty of my answer and asks if those present, may be allowed a vote by hands raised, for 2 options: First, females-only with a clear code of conduct for the public spaces and second, lesbians-only?" Finished, she hands back the microphone and sits down. I reply: "Thank you for your secondary. It is my intention, having identified the issues raised in this room, to test opinion in the manner you have suggested. Next question please."

Only a few hands are raised, demonstrating that the first questioner raised the burning issue for the majority. The microphone is handed to a lady who asks: "Please excuse the directness of my question. Is your vessel Bangkok Girl, to be the model for the nature of services offered on board Maharani?"

I smile warmly: "Thank you for your question and the considerate wording used. As a lesbian, my personal choice would be either of the two options already highlighted. As a businesswoman conducting market research, I cannot deny that if the research reveals a majority favouring the option implicit in your question, then I would be a poor businesswoman if I did not consider that option, even if it is not my personal choice. Would the questioner like to ask a secondary question related to my answer?"

The lady thanks me for the honesty and the clarity of my answer and says that she is happy with my answer.

Only two hands are raised for the next question. The microphone is handed to a lady who asks: "Is it a reasonable assumption that your business plan covers the cost for a week on board a luxury cruise?"

With a cheeky smile, I answer: "Yes, it is a reasonable question to ask! Would the questioner like to ask a secondary question related to my answer?" The audience laughs!

The lady thanks me for the directness of my answer with a grin: "What is the cost for a week and how was the cost determined?"

I thank the lady for the second chance to answer her question: "Having experienced a comparable holiday in the Presidential Suite of The Maharajahs' Express, we concluded that a uniform cost over the eighteen guest suites should be £25,000 per person per week with a minimum number of two persons per guest suite. The bonus on Maharani is the considerably larger private and public spaces available on board Maharani, and the spa-like pampering available at no extra cost.

On asking if she would like to ask a tertiary question related to my answer, I'm asked to confirm that each stateroom has a minimum cost of £50,000 per week and that two ladies may opt to share a stateroom. I'm happy to confirm the accuracy of her statement, adding that sexual orientation has no bearing on the matter. The lady thanks me for my confirmation.

It is an understatement to say I am completely surprised at the enthusiastic round of applause that greets my answer. I look at Sansa and Priyanka and they are grinning like Cheshire cats.

Only one hand is raised for the next question. The microphone is handed to a lady who asks: "May a vote, by raised hand, now be taken between the options: 1. Ladies-only guests, with a clear code of conduct for the public spaces. 2. Lesbians-only?"

Turning to Priyanka and Sansa, they both nod in support of a vote. I agree wholeheartedly and turn back to the questioner: "Yes, it may! Because of the difficulty of achieving accuracy, I propose the following vote: That all in favour of option: '1. Ladies-only guests', move to the platform end of the room and option: '2. Lesbians-only, move to the opposite end of the room.' Those in favour please now raise only one hand."

Almost every hand is raised: "Ladies, the proposal to hold the vote as defined is carried by a very large majority. Please move now to your chosen end of the room and stay there, i.e. 1. Ladies-only guests, with a clear code of conduct for the public spaces.' Move to the platform end of the room and option: '2. Lesbians-only.' Move to the opposite end of the room. Ladies on the platform, would you kindly help with the count?"

I ask Priyanka and Sansa to count those at the rear end while Karima and I count those by the platform end. When everyone has moved to one end, the result is very clear, there are far more at the platform end than at the other end. We make the count and find that 453 ladies are in favour of option 1. Ladies-only guests, with a clear code of conduct for the public spaces.' While 51 are in favour of option '2. Lesbians-only.'

On announcing the result: "The overall count of all branches is the total vote of all 36 branches of the Ladies Section of the Indian Flying Club. However, I declare that the vote of the Delhi branch is 453 in favour and 51 against, i.e. you have voted for 'Ladies-only guests, with a clear code of conduct for the public spaces.' There is an enthusiastic round of applause.

Priyanka asks everyone to take their seats again, when they have, she says: "I propose a vote of thanks and of the wholehearted support of the Delhi branch for the Maharani project, and particularly for Emily & Sansa!" Everyone stands to give another enthusiastic round of applause.

Priyanka winks as we leave the platform and asks if she may attend the other 35 meetings, thus adding transparency and credibility to the final result. Sansa and I are more than happy to agree. Everyone retires to the bar and a party begins that lasts into the small hours. Sansa remarks that we are lucky to be a short stagger away from our bed. Laughing, I agree!

Sansa and I, as is our custom, enjoy a shower before retiring to bed. We kiss-strip each other and step into the shower, where we wash each other thoroughly. Then I kneel between her legs and enjoy one of my favourite ways of pleasuring her and tasting her essence in the refreshing lukewarm downpour from the shower. As is our custom on these happily frequent occasions, Sansa gives me an orgasmic massage ensuring that she doesn't miss a single drop of my essence which we share in the sweetest kiss. What happens in the bedroom may be imagined by individual readers!