Page 59 of Cousin Conundrum

Kitty reached the top of the staircase at Miss Bingley’s side, in time to see Jane trail Mr. Darcy into a room. Before Miss Bingley could go after them, Kitty caught her sleeve. She could think of only one way to thank Miss Bingley for her quickness and competence, even if it didn’t paint Kitty in the best light. “I am sorry to have overheard what I was not meant to, but I took Jane into the morning room because—” Kitty broke off with a grimace. Miss Bingley could easily guess why. “Regardless, I saw Mr. Bingley drop that letter. It went under the pianoforte. I have no notion of if it remains there, but it might.”

Miss Bingley studied her for a moment, face pinched. “Thank you. I will have it searched for.”

Kitty nodded, her cheeks hot with the tacit admission that she’d eavesdropped. They both turned in the direction Jane and Mr. Darcy went.

To see Mr. Darcy, now carrying only his rather bedraggled coat, stride from the room. Sighting them at the top of the staircase, he made short work of the distance, halting before Kitty. “Who should I summon from the village?”

“I have already sent for the local man,” Miss Bingley said primly. “He is on his way, and a bath has been ordered to your room, along with your valet.”

“A bath? Miss Elizabeth has been knocked unconscious and nearly drowned.” Mr. Darcy’s voice crackled with strain. “I must assist her.”

“You will best assist her by ensuring you suffer no harm from, I assume, fishing her out of a pond?” Miss Bingley raised a sculpted brow in question.

Mr. Darcy scrubbed a hand through his disarrayed, still damp hair. He looked about, almost frantic.

Kitty began to have serious doubts that he couldn’t tell her, Mary, and Elizabeth apart. “Mr. Darcy, truly, I cannot think of a thing you can do. Mr. Jones is on his way. Jane is with Elizabeth, and I will join her shortly, and—” Kitty tried not to grimace. “—presumably Mama will recover enough to ask to be permitted in soon.”

“Before retreating to your room for fresh attire, however, you could enlighten us as to what took place,” Miss Bingley added.

Shaking his head, Mr. Darcy blurted, “And Miss Elizabeth? She is soaked through and shivering. She may require a bath as well.”

“I have already requested one, but she will not be placed in it until this Mr. Jones assures me that doing so will help rather than harm her.” Miss Bingley held up a staying hand when Mr. Darcy opened his mouth to speak. “I have already ordered fresh nightclothes brought to her chamber, and I will inform Mrs. Nicholls that Miss Elizabeth, along with Miss Bennet and Miss Kitty, will be staying here for so long as Miss Elizabeth requires.”

Though she’d heard Miss Bingley order more rooms made up, Kitty hadn’t realized they were for her and Jane. Gratitude and relief filled her. How amazingly thoughtful of Miss Bingley.

She turned to Kitty. “You may wish to have some things sent over from Longbourn but that can be seen to after you assist Miss Bennet with your sister.” With that, Miss Bingley turned an expectant look on Mr. Darcy.

He pressed a hand through his hair again, clearly trying to master his agitation. “Miss Archer hit a shuttlecock into the trees—”

“Obviously why they requested that location,” Miss Bingley muttered darkly. “I should have suspected.”

“—and insisted we hunt for it.”

Miss Bingley’s eyebrows shot up. “And you were fooled by this?”

“I was not, but her insistence grew taxing and I imagined that a private rebuke of her efforts would lend itself to fewer dramatics than a public one.”

Miss Bingley nodded.

“I have no notion what Miss Elizabeth wanted in the woods…” Mr. Darcy trailed off, looking at Kitty.

Unwilling to confess to more eavesdropping or to Elizabeth’s obvious desire to protect Mr. Darcy, Kitty kept her mouth clamped shut and shrugged.

“Miss Archer’s obvious goal was to fall into the water herself,” Mr. Darcy continued when he seemed to realize Kitty wouldn’t speak. “The original shuttlecock will likely never be found, but one had been placed on a half-fallen tree that leaned over the pool. Miss Elizabeth climbed out to get it in order to thwart Miss Archer’s plans. The trunk snapped, spilling Miss Elizabeth in. She sank, then came up and hit her head on the trunk, and sank again.” His voice grew tight as he spoke, his features pinching.

“How could she not realize her danger?” Miss Bingley gasped. “A half-fallen tree?”

“She likely assumed, as I do, that one of the Archers placed the decoy shuttlecock.” Mr. Darcy glanced over his shoulder at the open door to the room in which he’d placed Elizabeth. “No matter which of them did so, Miss Elizabeth is much slighter. She likely felt that if the tree held their weight, it would hold hers as well.”

That made sense to Kitty. She would have come to the same conclusion.

“The silly thing should have been left in the tree,” Miss Bingley snapped, then sighed. “Still, I appreciate that Miss Elizabeth did not want you in the clutches of an Archer.” Her features twisted into an angry wince. “Now, please go let your valet attend to you. I will go outside and report on what took place. If you do not mind, once you are dressed, I believe it would be best if you join Charles in his sitting room for tea.”

Mr. Darcy looked down the hall, presumably in the direction of the master’s suite of rooms. “Bingley is in his rooms?”

“He is,” Miss Bingley said flatly.

“Why?”