Chapter 6 looks at the long afterlife of apprenticeship, examining women’s claims to become free and the ways in which they met, and did not meet, the demands of City custom. As with indentures, the paperwork of petitions shows marriage undercutting women’s entitlements; a maze of customary rights blocked women from enjoying the freedom unconditionally. At the same time, in practice the City accepted humble petitions, took fees and granted ‘small shops’ to women who could prove their connections to companies. Women’s place in the City was significant and rooted in tradition and daily practice, but contingent.