English girls are not to be intimidated and set off in pursuit of the Marquis to tell him what they think of him. Now pert and pretty Molly Seamore arrives on the scene. She blithely teases her Reggie for playing with the live dolls of the Tea House and reminds him of their childhood days and how he tried to nurse her dolls—and then nurse her! Molly is rather taken aback when Lady Constance tells her that Reggie seems to have got in rather deeply with one of the geisha, and she pours out her heart to the comforting Mimosa without knowing who she is. Mimosa suggests that if she thinks Reggie has developed a penchant for Japanese girls perhaps she should dress up and pretend to be a geisha for him. Molly agrees with delight . Everyone begins to gather round for the sale of Wun-hi's business. Takemine sets himself up on a rostrum and, in spite of Reggie's qualms at the idea of seeing a woman effectively sold to the highest bidder, the fateful sale begins. Lot One is O Mimosa San. Imari bids heavily but Lady Constance determinedly bids even higher as Juliette tries to persuade the Marquis not to waste all his money and ruin himself for the sake of a singing girl. Imari agrees and drops out of the bidding, leaving Lady Constance to become the new owner of the geisha's contract, but Juliette's plan goes wrong when Imari takes a strong fancy to Lot Two, a piquant little geisha called Roli Poli who gives a fine display of seductive arts in song and dance, and he buys her instead. The finale finds Katana and Mimosa still separated and Molly, who is the mysterious Roli Poli, is in the Marquis's clutches while sparks fly all round. ACT 2 In the Chrysanthemum gardens of the Imari palace the ladies of the Marquis's court are preparing for their lord's marriage to Roli Poli. Molly is determined not to go through with this horrid oriental wedding and she rues the folly that led her into her little charade, but there seems no obvious way out of becoming the Marquise Imari. Juliette and Wun-hi, down on their luck, are lurking around trying to mend things, while Fairfax and his friends wander about the palace being nautical and attentive in turn to both the Japanese and English girls until they learn from Juliette of the danger that Molly is in and join the concerted plot to help her escape. It is Mimosa who actually proposes a practical plan for getting Molly out of her dilemma. She offers to infiltrate the bridal suite and exchange one veiled bride for another. Imari arrives followed by a suitably obeisant group of geisha and the English visitors. Wun-hi has been put in charge of the entertainments at the ceremony and Taktmine announces a special amusement for the guests in the shape of a fortune teller. The fortune teller, who is really Mimosa in disguise, gives good readings to everyone except the reluctant Marquis for whom she forecasts a miserable life unless he can he redeemed by a loving young wife. She offers to cast a love spell on the unwilling Molly and is hurried into the palace by the superstitious Marquis, leaving Cunningham to entertain the assembled company whilst the serious matters of the day are attended to. Molly is left alone with the 'fortune teller' to be bewitched into a happy Japanese wife. Mimosa quickly reveals herself and sets her plan in action. On the way to the wedding Juliette is substituted for the phoney Roli Poli under the nuptial canopy and Molly hurries to her Reggie's arms while the Marquis drinks the wedding cup with the disguised French girl. When the truth is revealed Imari accepts philosophically that 'every man is disappointed in his wife at some time or other' while Molly says there was no way she could marry a foreign nobleman when she could get an English sailor. Mimosa is left to wed her Japanese captain. Story condensed from Ganzl's Book of the Musical Theatre
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