Darcy Saga 01 Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy by Sharon Lathan Page A

did before. I will let you know when we enter our estate lands. The southerly route passes through approximately five miles of our farms."
    Lizzy lifted her brows in surprise. "I had no idea it was so vast!" His use of the word "our" was not lost on her, but she did not comment.
    Darcy smiled at her and stroked her cheek. "Yes, it is quite large. It requires several hours to circle the perimeter. Of course, a generous percentage of the land is wild and inaccessible but for horseback. A significant amount is woods, lakes, and rivers, as well as pastures. Game runs free and birds make their homes with little to disturb them except for the occasional hunt. The farmlands are closer to the manor, thus the tenants are within an easy distance." He leaned back in the seat and lovingly caressed her back.
    Elizabeth continued to stare out the window. She did not speak and Darcy could sense her tension, but he kept silent, waiting patiently until she was prepared to open her mind to him. In time she did, but her voice was so low he had to strain to hear her. "What if they do not like me?"
    "It does not matter if they do not like you. You are my wife and the Mistress of Pemberley. They are your servants and tenants." She jerked her head toward him at his blunt words, a ready retort on her lips. He smiled and stopped the flip rejoinder he knew she was about to make by pressing his fingers to her lips. That is what I want to see from you, my brave, feisty Lizzy, he thought. "However, I do not believe, even for one second, that they will not adore you. Nor do I have the slightest qualm or apprehension that you will be the most excellent Mistress that Pemberley has seen in decades, no offence intended toward my dear mother or grandmother."
    She peered intently into his eyes, as if searching for any untruth or doubt in his assertions, but there was none. The deep love he felt for her was unmistakably visible, as it always was. Yet, as she examined his eyes, she was again struck forcibly by the unparalleled esteem he held for her. His love for her, although all consuming, unwavering, and unconditional, was not blind or foolish. He knew her faults, her flaws, her weaknesses. He also knew her quality, her personality, her strengths, and her character. His trust in her was in spite of and due to these incontrovertible facts, not out of besotted passion or bedazzlement.
    She sighed and relaxed against his chest, burying her face into his shoulder. "You must think me a silly child!"
    He smiled into her hair. "You are not silly and, as proven several times over the past two days, you are unquestionably not a child!" They both laughed. "I do think you are worrying too much about all this, Elizabeth. No demands will be placed on you until you wish to assume them. Good heavens, it took me a year to feel secure as Master of Pemberley, and I grew up there! You will have all the time you need. Mrs. Reynolds already likes you and she will assist you in any way you require."
    "I do not apprehend how she could have such a fair opinion of me since I acted so outlandishly peculiar. Getting separated, spying on Georgiana, stammering like an imbecile, rushing off across the fields. I would imagine she is horrified that you would deign to be in the same room with me, let alone marry me!" She smiled up at him and he could not resist kissing her.
    "Well, therein lies the answer to your question, my heart. Mrs. Reynolds has known me since I was four. Few people understand me as well as she does. For all that she is technically a servant, she has in many ways been a second mother to me. She has observed me through all my years of pain and grief. She knows my character and judgment. She trusts my choices and wishes nothing more than to see me happy. So, if you bring me that happiness, and you emphatically do, and if I trust you, then she does as well. It is that simple." He kissed her again, deeply.
    Huskily he continued, "You must learn to have the same faith in my