In practice this meant that Members were entitled to do as they pleased with any of the Subjects on a casual basis, and it was a condition of each Member’s belonging to the Society that he consented to his sponsored Subject being used thus. However, a Member’s own use of his sponsored Subject might have priority if he requested it. Sometimes, Sophie found, Subjects who did not care for the attentions of certain Members would entreat their Sponsors to continuously insist on a prior need. But if a Member felt that he was being systematically denied access to a Subject, he could bring a complaint before the relevant committee, that the behaviour was not in accord with the spirit of the Society. In general these arrangements worked well, since if either a Member or a Subject were not a willing
