He squints at me in the sunlight. ‘Oh yeah? What did they have in mind for you?’

‘A good job, a nice marriage, children.’

He shrugs. ‘That’s probably what all parents want for their children and what most people want for themselves, eventually. I thought you were going to say they wanted you to go into politics or something completely out there.’

‘Yes, well, they’d prefer it to a market stall and second-hand clothes, that’s for sure. When it comes down to it, I know that fashion is about as trivial as it gets, but when Lucy’s flat was on fire, I risked my life to save those dresses. And when Tallulah Young told us that the suits weren’t made by Chanel, I felt physically sick. And then when I saw Dinah trying to burn that suit, so angry and inconsolable, I thought – it can’t really be that important, can it?’

One vertical crease pinches between his dark eyebrows.

Before he can say anything, I help him out. ‘You don’t have to answer that. Anyway. I’m going to look for a job as a sales assistant.’

‘What? You’re going to quit the market?’ he says, shocked.

As if I don’t feel bad enough. ‘If I give you a month’s notice, does that give you enough time to find someone else to share the space with?’

He slumps back in his seat looking baffled and shakes his head. ‘Fern, is this your mother’s idea of you getting on in life?’

‘It’s not a regular job with a regular income. She says I haven’t got a head for business.’

‘Your business is doing fine, from what I can see.’

‘But I’ve got to think of the future,’ I say lamely. When he doesn’t reply, I stand on the chair, unhook the Bespoke Tailoring and Alterations sign and roll it up. ‘I’ll be at the back of the shop; I’m going to make a start on Moss’s alterations.’

‘I didn’t know you could sew.’

‘My degree is in fashion. I had to make my own designs, obviously.’

‘Obviously,’ he repeats as if he hadn’t thought about it before.

All in all, that wasn’t so bad, was it? I feel like crap, though. At the back of the shop I start sorting through the clothes on the rail. It’s like revisiting old friends; I know these clothes and I know their new owners, too. Moss has pinned some of them, so it’s obvious what needs doing. But there are also ones that only Moss knows what’s meant to be done with them. Or maybe they’ve already been done? I look through my client book, putting asterisks next to the women I need to call later to check, and then I take off my jacket and get started.