"No, I don't think that's a good idea, Miss." Arthur insisted. "I'm afraid Mr. Dauphin would be more likely to take offense. But I can show you the kitchen in his absence." Why was he sitting here considering the feelings of his hired staff? Ugh, he thought irritated, life wasn't what it used to be. Soon he would have to start offering his servants insurance and pensions. What had the world come to?

He shook his head when she asked if he had questions and nodded when she said she preferred to do her own shopping. "I can send a servant with you to help you carry things," he offered. "The dinner would be on the first of March. An exact time has not yet been scheduled, but it will be around eight in the evening. It will be around twelve gentlemen, some bringing their wives. I will let you know the exact number."

"The dinner is supposed to feel like a friendly gathering, but they are all important people, some of whom I don't know very well personally, so they will have to feel they have been treated with the appropriate dignity. This dinner is very important, and you will be hired especially for the occasion, and I will expect something to impress our guests. Something exotic perhaps?"

It would be the kind of dinner one hosted for people one didn't know very well, but whom one would want to befriend in order to obtain favours.