‘Yep, fingers crossed this is better than the others,’ Sarah said, and went through to the back to collect her bag. She turned the sign on the front door to ‘closed’, then locked up. ‘It was good of Albert to have a word with Mr Burrows about it.’

‘Well, it’s been a shoe shop for as far back as I can remember, and from what Albert told me, Mr Burrows is desperate to rent it out so he can retire. The shop became too much and he’s been losing money hand over fist.’

‘What about his family? Aren’t any of them keen to take it on?’ Sarah asked.

‘You haven’t heard the gossip then? His eldest son was working with him but he’s in prison now for theft. He went down last month for quite a stretch. They reckon the judge made an example of him and he got a longer sentence then he deserved. His other son went off to live in Australia a year ago and his daughter is married with four kids.’

‘Why hasn’t Mr Burrows put the shop up for sale?’

‘He did, but when he didn’t find a buyer, he decided to rent it.’

‘At least it’ll give him a regular income,’ Sarah mused as they walked to the shop, and soon they were standing outside the dark-green frontage. Sarah liked the double-aspect large windows and could already picture herself displaying their goods.

The agent arrived, and shook their hands. ‘This is a prime location,’ he said, unlocking the door.

‘So far, so good,’ Sarah said, feeling a tinge of excitement. She had a feeling this was going to be the one and couldn’t wait to get inside.

The windows let in lots of natural light, and the floor space was good. The shelves were dusty, but as the premises had been empty for at least a month, that wasn’t surprising.

‘Just through this door, you have a back yard with rear entrance vehicle access,’ the agent said.

Sarah stepped into the yard and looked around, feeling elated as she went back inside. The interior of the shop needed a lick of paint, but that was something easily tackled. ‘What do you think, Lena?’ she said.

‘I think it’s perfect. If George can pick up second-hand furniture, he can do restoration work out there, or it could be used for storage. I don’t think you’re going to find anything more suitable, and it’s a fair price too.’

Sarah turned to the agent. ‘I’ll take it,’ she said, hoping she hadn’t jumped the gun.

The agent looked pleased, and said, ‘I’ll tell Mr Burrows, and draw up a rental agreement. If you come to my office on Monday you can sign it, and as long as you pay the first month’s rent, I will give you the keys.’