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“Mr Bennet, we must have a dinner party,” his wife said, wringing her hands as she looked hopefully at her husband.

He set his paper on the desk. “Why must we have a dinner party, Mrs Bennet?”

“So Mr Bingley will fall more in love with our Jane, of course.”

“More in love? They have only just met.”

“But he danced two sets with her. The first…”

“My dear, please do not try my nerves by reciting the dances to me again. Once is more than enough for me, thank you. To be perfectly frank, it is one time too many when you only had to say it was an enjoyable night and I would have been completely satisfied with your review of the evening.”

“But do you not want to see your daughter happily married to a man of large fortune?”

“I live for the moment when all my daughters are married, fortune or not, as they are a drain on mine.”

“Mr Bennet, how can you abuse your daughters so?” She cried, worried that he was going to say no.

“It is a statement of fact, my dear Mrs Bennet, and in no way indicates the fatherly affection I hold for each of them.”

“Then, if we are to see Jane married to Mr Bingley, we must hold a dinner party.”

“It has always amazed me how a woman’s mind can go from a dance or two, to love and on to marriage in such a short time. It seems to me, the greater the man’s fortune, the shorter it is.”

“One must act with haste in such rare occurrences when such a man enters the neighborhood as other families are ready to throw their daughters at him.”

“Mrs Bennet, if you recall, the last gentleman you thought to marry Jane off to did not work out when you insisted on a weekly dinner party for an entire month.”

“You cannot hold me to blame me for that, Mr Bennet. After all, he was an Irishman,” she replied, wringing her hands nervously.

“Then how about the one you believed was to be the next Shakespeare. Our dinner parties for his encouragement of taking Jane off our hands also proved for naught.” He raised his eyebrows in anticipation of another excuse. “His love for our poor Jane turned out to be as bad as his prose.”

“Everyone knows those creative types can be somewhat fickle. Besides, Mrs Long told Lady Lucas that she overheard, Mr Bingley telling Mr Goulding that Jane was the prettiest girl at the assembly. So you see, Mr Bennet, you must allow this dinner party.”

He let out a long sigh. He knew she would continue to badger him until permission had been granted.

“Very well, Mrs Bennet. You may have one dinner party, but only one. Unless I see some indication of this passionate desire you speak of, I will not waste money.”

“Thank you, Mr Bennet,” she cried, clapping her hands gleefully. “You are the best of fathers. You shall see this time. I expect our lovely Jane to be married by Christmas.”

“And if she is not?”

“It is a certainty now, Mr Bennet. A certainty indeed.”

He nodded. “Then you had better leave me be and begin your plans. There is much to consider if one is to ensnare a man of Mr Bingley’s fortune.”

“To be sure, but everyone in the county knows I set the best table. Even Lady Lucas has commented on it many times.” Mrs Bennet headed gleefully for the door as she contemplated what should go on the menu.

“Before you go, Mrs Bennet.”

She hesitated a moment before stopping, knowing there would be a caveat to his allowance for the dinner party.

“Please try to keep the costs reasonable. There is a carriage horse I am considering purchasing.”

Mrs Bennet smiled broadly. “Oh yes, Mr Bennet, a carriage horse is just what we need,” she said happily. With another horse she would not have to arrange her visits around when it was needed for work around the farm.

“And please see that I am not disturbed the rest of the day.”

She assured him that he would be left alone and departed.

Mr Bennet chuckled lightly. When they first married, he was ready to buy a carriage horse. However, unbeknownst to him, her request to redo the garden had turned into a major project when he had been away in London. To her dismay, the horse had been put on hold. Over the years, he used the prospect of a carriage horse to curtail her spending.