The Diamond Mesh

A fabric testing room in Manchester on a grey overcast morning, soft daylight from tall steel-framed windows at the left, on a plain wooden hanger at a white rail an ankle-length sleeveless nightdress of almost transparent pale cream mesh with a faint pink tint, tiny diamond-shaped holes, a wide U-shaped neckline with a broad fluttering frill falling over both shoulders, a curved gathered yoke under the bust, a narrow tie of the same mesh knotted in a bow at the waist, a straight skirt, the daylight through the mesh laying a faint diamond pattern on the white wall, a woman's hand in a grey cardigan sleeve smoothing the frill.