“Mrs. Bennet, I have decided to make a few changes to Longbourn. There is news of which you need to be made aware.” At that, Mrs. Bennet began to look worried and shifted in her seat. “We did not yield as much as we had hoped with the recent harvest, and our income reflects this.” She gasped. “Now, do not fret, my dear, we are not destitute, but I will need to reduce your and the girls’ allowances for some time.” She opened her mouth but closed it again before any sound came out.

“Now, you may find this strange, Mrs. Bennet, but I believe we need to prepare our daughters for marriage.” At this, Mrs. Bennet sat straight up and looked queerly at her husband. “Of course, we don’t want any suitors to be put off by our reduced circumstances, so you mustn’t say anything to anyone about it. We don’t want to ruin their chances now, do we?” he said cajolingly.

“No, of course not, I won’t breathe a word of it.” She wrung her handkerchief for a moment before asking, “Is it very bad, Mr. Bennet?”

“No, my dear, not so bad. But we want to urge caution, don’t we? We’ll have to cut back on entertaining, and the meals could be simpler.” She nodded vigorously. “Now, about our girls. What say you to a music master for them? I have also thought about drawing lessons.”

Not being a very clever woman, Mrs. Bennet never questioned how they could afford masters when they were supposedly in financial straits. And so the conversation continued, Mr. Bennet suggesting he himself would tutor them in literature, something he knew would not be easy but he thought necessary if they wanted to pass themselves off as having any kind of intelligence. Mrs. Bennet suggested French lessons to which her husband quickly agreed and though she did not like it, she agreed with her husband’s idea of having the girls learn some basic cookery skills in the kitchen. Finally, he came to the most difficult part of the conversation.

“Mrs. Bennet, I must tell you something you will not like.”

She looked at him with wide eyes, surprised after their very pleasant conversation about their girls. It was amazing what having an attentive husband could do for one’s nerves.

“What is it?” she asked.

“About Catherine and Lydia, I do not think they are prepared to be out.”

Mrs. Bennet began to protest, her voice rising shrilly as she went on about what fun they should be having and how pretty and lively they were. It was almost enough to make Mr. Bennet give up on his plan entirely.