‘Hello,’ the woman said, with a friendly smile. ‘Can I help you?’

‘No,’ Edie said reflexively.

‘Yes,’ Gilly said. ‘My mum is getting married and she’d like to look at some dresses, please.’

The woman turned to Edie with a thousand-watt smile. ‘Congratulations! That’s lovely news. Do you have any idea of what sort of style you might like to try?’

Edie was still getting over the blindside of Gilly introducing her as her mother. ‘No,’ she said abruptly. ‘Except,’ she stabbed a finger towards the dress in the window. ‘Definitely not that.’

The woman didn’t bat an eyelid at Edie’s rudeness.

‘Well then, let’s see what I can come up with. I’m Annie, by the way. And you are?’

‘Edie,’ Edie said. Then she looked at Gilly. ‘My daughter’s name is Gilly.’

‘It’s lovely to meet you both,’ Annie said, oblivious to the magnitude of the moment. ‘Edie, I’m just going to—’

Annie reached up a hand and touched her fingers to Edie’s chin, turning her face to centre. Then she stepped back and flicked her gaze over her from head to toe. Edie had the sudden sense that she was being sized up in exactly the same way that an art critic might appraise a piece of art.

‘Would you be open to wearing a heel?’ Annie asked.

‘Yes,’ Edie said, ‘as long as they’re not the sort that’ll make me look as if I should be swinging around a pole.’

‘Edie!’ Gilly scolded.

‘What?’

‘Excuse me for one minute,’ the shopkeeper said. ‘I’ll be right back.’

She disappeared into the recesses of the shop, leaving only the music and a strangely awkward moment behind her.

‘We should go,’ Edie muttered. ‘There’s no way she’s going to have anything even vaguely appropriate for a woman of my age in here.’

‘We can’t just walk out,’ Gilly said. ‘Wait a minute. You never know.’

‘I do,’ Edie said firmly.

‘Here we are,’ Annie said, announcing her return. ‘Edie, you are so beautiful and you have such exquisite bone structure that really, I agree with you – less will be so much more. This dress here is actually a sample from a new range that I haven’t even called in stock for yet. It’s very simple, but I think it might be exactly what you’re looking for. What do you think?’

Edie stared at the dress Annie held. It was cut from cream silk, a shirt-style top with short sleeves and a floor-length skirt, cinched at the waist with a wide belt of the same shade.

‘You could wear flats with this, but I would recommend trying a small heel.’ Annie went on, ‘Because this is pure silk, it could be dyed after the wedding for further use. It would be simple to shorten, too. If you’d like to add some contrast, the belt can be customized, either in a different colour, or depending on timescale and budget, with embroidery.’

Edie glanced at Gilly, who was looking unrepentantly triumphant.

‘See?’ she said. ‘I told you.’