Chapter 13
Ash stood up. “Wow. How do I top that?”
Three hundred faces turned towards her. Somewhere nearby, the man in pink trousers clicked his camera. She’d expected that. She hadn’t expected her knees to go.
Come on, Woods. You’ve done harder things than this.
But she’d never done something so important. Football was fleeting. This was her life.
She glanced down at the paper in her hand. Moments, it said at the top, underlined twice. The rest was bullet points and one arrow pointing to a doodle of a football that she had no memory of drawing.
She looked left, to Victoria, who smiled. Not the balcony smile. Not the state banquet smile. The smile. The one meant just for her.
Her knees came back.
“Growing up, my mum told me to find someone who treats me like a queen.”
A beat. She looked out at the room. Let them wait.
“Trust me to overachieve.”
The laugh that came back was bigger than she’d expected. A proper, warm, room-filling laugh, and somewhere in it, she heard her dad’s honk.
Okay. Okay. You’ve got them.
“I’ve captained England at Wembley in front of 90,000 people,” she went on. “I’ve taken a penalty in a shoot-out with a nation holding its breath. But standing up in front of you lot to talk about how much I love my wife? Terrifying.”
Another laugh. Softer. The room was leaning in.
“People keep asking me what it’s like to marry a princess. Honestly?” She let the pause stretch. “She’s a nightmare in the mornings. Same as everyone else.”
The laugh broke properly this time, like the perfect wave. Ash risked a glance at Victoria, whose lips were pursed, eyebrows raised as if to say, how dare you.
Ash grinned. “Sorry, Ma’am.” She was completely off-script now.
Victoria’s blue eyes narrowed, but her shoulders shook. Something in Ash’s chest unclenched.
She took a breath. She’d taken Beth’s advice and started with a joke. But the jokes ended here. Ash turned to Victoria.
”I’m sure you’ll all agree though, she looks positively radiant in the afternoon. Especially this one. When I turned to see Victoria walking down the aisle, it was a like a movie. How did I get so lucky? I’ll never know.”
Ash swallowed. Her throat was dry. There was a glass of water somewhere near her right hand — she could feel it in her peripheral vision — but she didn’t trust her fingers not to shake, and she didn’t want the room seeing that. Not yet.
“Because here’s the thing nobody tells you about falling in love with someone the whole world thinks they know.”
She paused, as the words landed.
”Only, they don’t know her. They know the woman on the balcony. The woman who’ll be on the coins one day. They know the headlines and the hemlines, but they don’t know her.”
She looked back at Victoria.
”I do.”
Victoria’s chin trembled. Just slightly. Ash saw it, because Ash saw everything about her.
“I have been the most privileged person on this earth these last few years.” Ash’s voice cracked, but she didn’t fight it, because this was a moment. “But it isn't because of any of the extraordinary things that come with loving Victoria. The palaces. The travel. The corgis.”
A ripple of laughter. She heard the Queen’s laugh in it. Distinct. Warm.
”It’s because I got to meet the real you. The one nobody else gets to see. The one who’s a fabulous cook, an even better dancer, a Swiftie, a pool shark.”
“True story!” Michael shouted.
Ash grinned. “But also, someone who’s funnier,” she counted them off, one for each finger, holding Victoria’s eye the whole time, “kinder, braver, and frankly weirder than anyone out there has any idea.”
Victoria laughed, then. A proper wet laugh, half a sob in it. She pressed her fingers under her eyes. She was still a bit emotional from her own speech, as was Ash.
”You’re also incredibly down to earth, which I wasn’t expecting. What’s more, one day, you’re going to make history as the UK’s first openly queer monarch. And you’re going to be extraordinary at it. Even more extraordinary than you are already.”
Ash switched her gaze to the Queen, and bowed her head.
The Queen nodded back, her cheeks pink.
Ash turned the ring on her finger. New weight. Good weight.
“The country is lucky you’re next in line.” She paused. “I’m simply lucky you’re mine.”
The room made a sound then: a collective happy sigh. Had Ash made them all believe in love again? She hoped so. She allowed herself one second to enjoy it, then reached for her champagne.
Her hand was shaking. She’d been right about that. She wrapped her fingers around the stem and held it tighter.
“Before I sit down, a few toasts.”
She turned first to her mum beside her; then her dad, sat beside the Queen.
Her mum had a hand pressed to her chest, her fascinator still perfectly positioned. She’d be thrilled. Her dad, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to slide under the table. Too bad.
”Mum. Dad.”
She cleared her throat. Hard.
Her mum made a small sound.
“I know this isn’t the wedding you pictured when I was seven, kicking a ball around the garden, annoying the heck out of you.”
Her dad snorted.
”It’s a little bigger than expected, with slightly more press interest. But then, I always was a big show-off.”
That got a bigger laugh.
“Thank you for loving me exactly the same through all of it. And for showing me what a good marriage looks like. I’ve had a front-row seat my whole life.” Ash’s voice thickened. She let it. “Everything I know about how to love someone, I learned from watching the two of you.”
Her mum squeezed her eyes tight shut, but she was smiling. Her dad, meanwhile, sat up a little taller.
“I love you,” Ash said, “and I hope I’ve made you as proud as you make me.”
She lifted her glass. Held it high enough that the whole room could see.
"Ladies, gentlemen, everyone in between. Please raise your glasses. To my mum and dad, Debra and Mark.”
The room rose. Chairs scraped. ”To Debra and Mark.”
Ash took a sip. The champagne was cold and delicious.
“We’ve got presents for both you and Victoria’s parents, but we’ll share them later.” She glanced out at the reception. “We didn’t forget, honest.”
Everyone laughed at that.
“Also, a huge thank you to Astrid, Victoria’s maid of honour and a huge reason we’re together today. Astrid does not take no for an answer, so thank you.” Ash raised her glass. “Could you all raise a glass to the lone bridesmaid please. To Princess Astrid!”
The crowd obeyed, then sat.
“Finally, to my beautiful wife.” Ash turned to Victoria. “You were right; that is pretty fun to say, isn’t it?”
Victoria’s smile was broad. “It’s the absolute best.”
“Your speech was masterful, and you stole all the good lines. But that’s been the story of my life ever since I met you. Me, standing beside you, in awe of you. Especially when it comes to dancing. Stick around later to see the evidence.”
The crowd who were in on the private joke laughed.
“But seriously, today is the outcome of so many obstacles we had to overcome to get here. But you know what? I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.
Some people take getting married for granted, but we never did.
Never could. But today, we stood up for love, and I hope we’ve made you all believe in love again. ”
She glanced at Victoria, who stared at her like she hung the moon.
“Victoria has taught me the power of strength and resilience. The power of belief. The power of love.” Ash took Victoria’s hand and kissed it. Then she turned to the audience.
“You all got a princess, and she’s a pretty fucking good one.”
The reception laughed.
“But me?” Ash paused. “I met my soulmate, who happens to have a quite high-profile job. But she’s assured me there will be work-life balance.
If the last three years are anything to go by, she might be lying.
But marrying her wasn’t a choice. It was necessity.
Because every time she turns up at a key England game, we win, so I did it for the country.
” Ash grinned at Victoria, then winked, as the reception roared its approval.
Victoria simply rolled her eyes with a smile.
Ash held her glass high.
“Please. Everybody. Be upstanding and raise your glass to my frankly gorgeous wife, my one and only. To Victoria!”
The room got to its feet: “Victoria!”
Ash drank. Sat down. Then leaned over and kissed her wife full on the lips.
In public.
Again.
What a day.