The Unexpected Journey-A Prince Harry Fan Fic

Chapter 84

As the year drew closer to the end, the wedding plans continued. Those three important meetings had set the ball rolling for all that was to come.

They had met with the Archbishop of Canterbury twice since that initial meeting and they continued to meet at St. Paul's Cathedral. Every time Maddie stepped foot into St. Paul's, she had to pause and take a moment to let it sink in, let her mind adjust. The vast opulence, the regality that it held was intimidating. Every time she stepped inside, she became more and more at ease with the grandness, more and more at home in the space. Harry, biting back his smirk, would hold her hand and walk the length of the aisle, realizing she needed the time and the moment to process.

Maddie would take notes as they walked. She would take note of the time it took to walk from one end to the other, the time it would take her to walk from the door to Harry. Three and a half minutes. She would take note of just how many people would fit inside. She would take note of where Harry would be standing, where she would meet him, where they would move to. Though the Archbishop assured her there would be plenty of time for rehearsals, seeing how it would be laid out in her mind was a sort of comfort for her.

They had met with the attorney and the banker only once. Maddie had controlled her facial features when the folder was placed in front of her, she kept her eyes focused in front of her as paper after paper was flipped over for her—drawing her deeper and deeper into the details of Harry's wealth. She was aware that next to her, Harry sat in a continual state of instability; his foot tapping on the floor, his fingers drumming on the table, his teeth biting at his nails. There was nothing about this experience that didn't make him uncomfortable. She recognized that. And she recognized how big of a moment this must be for him, to share this information with her. And, though her jaw wanted to slack, though her eyes wanted to bug wide, she held it together. She kept a small, easy smile on her face and nodded curtly at each new bit of information. And, when the attorney slid the pen across the table to her, she signed all of the documents; the one allowing her access to the newly established joint account, the one allowing her to order and charge things to the household account, and finally the small stack that outlined the details of her life in a divorced-from-Harry world; she signed them all with the same calm, the same ease. And when she was done, she clicked the pen and let it rest on the table right next to all of her questions about his money.

There were no more questions, no more inquiries. He had shown her. She had seen. And they were moving on.

And finally, they had met with Joan about the dress designer and a few small details. Maddie turned over the narrowed down pile of three designers. Joan would take them from the meeting and call them all in for a secret meeting. She would ask that they each put together drawings, fabrics, and ideas for what they would see Maddie wearing on the big day. She would ask that the send over something they had designed so that Maddie could wear it and get a feel for their style, for their cuts. Not more than three weeks later, Maddie had made a final selection. Winifred Ellis, relatively unknown until now, was brought into St. James Palace where she would enthusiastically agree to take on the biggest assignment of her life. She would sign confidentiality agreements and take meetings with Thomas, a family attorney and Joan all before she was able to sit down with Maddie. Both Maddie and Winnie, as she preferred to be called, were excited and anxious to finally meet and begin this journey that would prove life altering for the both of them. It was November, the wedding was in June and there wasn't much time to bring it all together. But it was time to begin.

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"Next question please," Maddie smiled to Harry as she returned to the breakfast table.

"Yes," Harry nodded and looked to the book of sample questions for The British Life test she would be taking in a matter of days. Clearing his throat, he read the next on the list. "How many Parliamentary constituencies are there? 464, 564, 646, or 664?"