Sharon hadn’t realised what she had said, but it certainly got Jake’s mind working. He looked over to where Tony had been standing with Bernice. He had gone, and no prizes for guessing where. Jake wanted to talk to Tony about some of these respectable members. Mathers was right; some of these married men had skeletons in their cupboards, all right. They liked looking at men! No wonder they all liked Ashley. Sharon had even laughed that some of the male waiters made more in tips than the ladies did. This was certainly something to look in to, and Mathers, without betraying any trust, had tried dropping the hint to Tony.

‘Maybe I’ll pop over to the men’s club tonight to see what Ashley has got planned. Will you be going over there later?’ said Jake. He wanted to speak to Ashley privately; this was business.

Jake opened the door to the entertainment room and was surprised to see that it was busy. The strippers had a full audience. When he’d passed the other lounges he’d seen some of the older men sitting in the comfortable wingback chairs, with their brandies and cigars; some were even asleep. He hadn’t expected more of them to be in the entertainment room than in the lounges. It was proving to be a money-spinner.

Jake looked around the room. It was dimly lit, with only the bright spotlights focused on the dancers on the stage and a couple of lamps above the bar. He spied Ashley standing amongst the men, laughing and joking. It seemed he was doing Tony’s job and playing host, and these men were lapping it up. There were a lot of men there, the number seeming to far outweigh the members’ list.

Jake caught Ashley’s eye and discreetly beckoned him over. He saw Ashley look up and then excuse himself. ‘Jake, love,’ he said, as he reached him, ‘it’s nice to have the pleasure of your company.’

‘Come with me, Ashley, I need a quiet word.’ Jake walked away to a private room he knew Mathers used as a staffroom. He entered, waited for Ashley to follow him in, then shut the door behind them. Ashley could tell by the look on Jake’s face this was not the time for silly jokes.

‘Who are all those people?’ said Jake. ‘Not all of them are members.’

Ashley sat down; he too was serious. ‘Members have always been allowed to bring a guest with them; didn’t Mathers tell you that?’

Jake shook his head. He was a little perturbed. He hadn’t known that members could have guests and he wondered if Tony did. ‘Sharon tells me you’ve had a lot of interest in your men’s night.’

Ashley nodded. ‘Yes, there has been a lot of interest. I knew there would be, I told you so, didn’t I?’

‘You did, but why, Ashley? Why are these old fuddy-duddies so interested in seeing men dance around half-naked? They don’t strike me as men who would even approve of that kind of thing. So, go on then, enlighten me.’