Legally Addicted - By Lena Dowling Page 0,59

pretty quickly.

Georgia drained the remainder of the brandy, suspecting that whatever it was that Caro had to say, she was going to need it.

‘I owe you an apology, Georgia.’

‘What?’

Georgia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She looked at the empty glass, disbelieving. How strong was this stuff? Had Brad’s butler drugged her?

But Caro continued, her face serious, her lips briefly pressing down together in a line of contrition before she spoke again.

‘The truth is, but for my family’s money, I would have had the same start as you. The only difference was my mother’s opiate addiction was enabled by some sympathetic doctors through prescription medications, and funded by my father’s money. Until now, I’ve never been able to face it, and I took it out on you. I’m sorry.’

Wow.

‘I don’t know what to say, Caro.’

‘You don’t have to say anything. Just take this cheque. If Brad’s going to match every donation, he can start with this.’

Caro handed her a slip of paper and Georgia stared at the generous six figure donation on the cheque.

Wow. Just wow. Miracles happened after all.

‘I would have liked it to be more, but this is the most I can pull together at short notice.’

‘No, Caro, this is amazing. Thank you.’

‘I know it’s none of my business, but I hope this announcement means you and Brad have resolved your differences. Brad’s never been impressed by money or connections. It’s one of his most attractive qualities; well, apart from the blindingly obvious of course. You make a good couple — better than that blinged up opal tree he brought with him tonight.’

Blinged up opal tree.

Something hovering around in the recesses of Georgia’s mind dropped into a waiting slot.

‘Caro, what business is Douglas Walsh in, exactly?’

‘What business is he in, or how does he actually make his money?’

‘Both.’

Caro gave her a crooked smile as if she was about to be taken into some secret known to only those in the right circles.

‘Officially he is in the business of quarrying stone for landscaping. The real money comes partly from the opals, but mostly from a uranium mine he has an interest in.’

Suddenly it all made sense. Walsh could control his profits by managing how much he mined. With a divorce on the horizon, he was stockpiling his assets, leaving minerals in the ground and trading only at break-even, and the uranium meant his mining operations could be legitimately kept secret.

‘Thanks, Caro.’

‘Ruby told me you were her lawyer. She is always singing your praises, but I’m guessing she’s as clueless about her husband’s business as her daughter is when it comes to how much jewellery can be tastefully combined for one occasion.’

Georgia smiled.

As Ruby’s lawyer she couldn’t possibly comment.

‘More coffee, sir?’

The morning after the gala fundraiser, Jeffrey was at his side with a large gleaming coffeepot. For some reason the sight of the reflective ornament that Jeffrey had obviously spent some time on with the silver polish, irritated the hell out of him.

‘Yes, thank you, Jeffrey. And in future I think we could just go with a simple glass plunger in the morning — we should save the silver for a special occasion.’

‘Yes, of course, sir, and how was your evening? I trust you found Miss Walsh’s company agreeable,’ his butler said, pouring the hot liquid into his cup.

Brad would much rather not have recalled the gala that Caro had single-handedly managed to derail into a very expensive train wreck for the Spencer Trust to clean up, but Jeffrey’s polite morning chitchat was as much a mandatory part of the butler code of practice as his heat pressed newspapers.

‘She was fine.’

‘More ornamental than cerebrally engaging, then, sir?’

‘I think we both know she’s not likely to be the next Mrs Spencer, but as an escort to a society function, she handled herself appropriately, Jeffrey.’

‘Yes, no doubt she would lack the intellectual sparkle of…Miss Murray, for example. If you don’t mind me asking, sir? What was it that Miss Murray was after in the end? Your money or your contacts?’

‘The money.’

‘For clothes, diamonds, or travel, sir?’ Jeffrey asked.

‘A hefty charitable donation — very hefty.’

‘So only money for this addiction centre that got announced at the gala, nothing for herself then, sir?’

‘She asked for money, Jeffrey, and a lot of it.’

‘Yes, and I do know how you hate that, sir. But could this situation be seen in a different light from the others, given that there was no personal gain involved?’

‘No financial gain that’s true, but she’s emotionally invested, so ultimately the donation