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Miss Keynes reared back. “Well, I never.”

“You are, of course, most welcome to come back tomorrow to pay the account in full.” Sylvia placed her hand on the box. “We would be happy to keep your skirt safe until then.”

Miss Keynes’s gaze fixed on the box. “Your mother was always very understanding…”

“I’m afraid that this shop is no longer able to extend lines of credit to our customers. We are asking all our ladies to settle their outstanding accounts. You understand, given the uncertainty of the world we live in now,” she said with a smile.

“I supposed I could pay for the skirt now,” Miss Keynes muttered, unclasping the gold top of her handbag.

“That would be most appreciated, but I’m afraid that given the size of your debt, I must insist that you settle the bill in full before we can release this skirt to you.” An idea dawned on her, so she added, “I should also mention that all future orders will require a deposit equal to half the price of the garment as well as the appropriate number of clothing coupons before any work can begin. The rest of the payment should be made upon collection.”

Miss Keynes looked between her and the box and then back to her again. “This is most distressing. I’m certain your mother would not approve.”

“Unfortunately for all of us, my mother is no longer with us,” she said.

Miss Keynes’s hand flew to her chest. “My goodness…”

“If you would like me to write an invoice for the full amount with an itemization of the clothing items that have not yet been paid for, I would be happy to do so,” Sylvia finished with a sweet smile.

Miss Keynes clutched her handbag to her stomach as though she thought Sylvia would rip the thing from her. “That will not be necessary. You will have your money within the week.”

“I’m certain that I will,” she said.

Miss Keynes sent Sylvia one last horrified look and then scurried out of the shop.

When the bell at the top of the door fell quiet, Sylvia turned to Miss Reid and said, “Well, we shall see if she’s good to her word.”

“What if she doesn’t bring the money?” asked Miss Reid.

“Then I will speak to her one more time, and if she still will not pay, I will speak to the bailiffs,” she said, closing the order book.

“She’s been one of your mother’s best customers for many years,” said Miss Reid.

“What she has been doing is virtually stealing from my mother for many years. We are no longer taking orders from her until her account is paid in full,” she said firmly, picking up the box.

She could hear the clatter of Miss Reid’s shoes on the wood floor of the passageway behind her.

“Your mother never required deposits,” Miss Reid called out.

“That was my mother’s business, not mine,” she said, pushing open the workroom door with her hip. “Things change.”

“Have you written to your sister about this? Requiring a deposit may offend some customers,” said Miss Reid.

She walked through the open door of her mother’s office and set the skirt box on a free spot on the increasingly neater desk. Then she turned back to Miss Reid, placing her hands on her hips.

“Then that is a fact that our customers will have to accept,” she said.

“I really don’t think—”

She held up both hands. “Miss Reid, I am going to be frank with you. Mrs. Shelton’s Fashions is teetering on the edge. How badly it’s teetering is still a mystery to me, but what I’ve found so far is not good.

“If things do not change, there will be no more orders to make up. There will be no more wages for you. There will be no more shop for my sister to come home to. I can understand why you might not believe me when I say this, but I do not want that to happen. However, to avoid that, we cannot continue to do things the way that we’ve always done them. We are carrying all of the costs of doing business up front when we have no deposit at the commissioning of a garment outside of clothing coupons. It makes no sense.”

Miss Reid crossed her arms. “And what if all our customers leave us for other dressmakers? Business has been hard enough to come by with rationing in place.”

“Then we will find new customers. Ones who will pay.”

“How?” asked Miss Reid.