“I am perfectly ready, I assure you, to keep my engagement; and when your sister is recovered, you shall, if you please, name the very day of the ball.
pg.82 There were two types of balls: private and public. In a private ball, the hostess finds a room appropriate for dancing before giving out invitations in person to those on her guest list or send a servant to hand out the invitations. (Olsen, All Things Austen: Volume I, 197)