Caroline

Chapter 24

Caroline felt a chill, and she knew it had nothing to do with the air around her.

"How long before?"

Terrence took another sip of his tea before setting his cup and saucer down. She watched him settle deeper into his chair, cross his legs, and weave his fingers together before he spoke.

"Mark and Brenda began their affair .... weeks, I suppose..... after she married Jack."

"Why would they.... if she had just gotten married.....?"

He shifted in his seat, recrossing his legs, clearly not comfortable with the conversation.

"My knowledge of this is entirely second-hand, you understand. Apparently, Brenda married Jack believing that she would be as happy with him as your parents were in their marriage. She wanted what her friend had. What she got was a cold, verbally abusive Jack. Seems he wasn't entirely truthful about himself during the wooing period. After the honeymoon, she got a clearer picture of what her life was going to be, and it scared her."

"Why didn't she just divorce him, then?"

"You'd have to ask her that, Carrie. But I suspect pride had something to do with it. Brenda never did like admitting she had made a mistake."

She picked up her teacup again, leaving the saucer behind to prevent a rattle with her shaking fingers. "So my father...." she said before taking a sip, fully aware of the formality she had used in naming him.

He leaned his head back and looked to the ceiling, as if trying to remember. She believed he was just trying to avoid looking at her.

"At some point, he and Brenda were alone together, and she confessed to him how miserable she was. What started as comforting her became more.... heated. It should have ended there. But I suspect once Brenda .... learned how it was to be with someone more.... considerate, she was unwilling to do without that. And Mark, in his twisted, generous way, believed he was truly doing her some good. Yet they both knew that if Julie ever found out, it would devastate her."

"But if it started that long ago, " she said, feeling a weight settle in her stomach, "Then Michael... "

Terrence waved his hand in the air. "Paternity tests were run for both of them, darlin'. We know that Jack is Michael's father, and Mark is Hannah's."

Still, she was stunned. The enormity of her father's deceit toward her mother was even greater than she had thought. "So all that time...."

"The affair did end. Guilt finally caught up to them. But the damage, so to speak, was done."

"And so they just pretended?"

He nodded. "Until they couldn't. It was very unfortunate that Michael overheard that conversation. It was innocuous enough, from what I understand. Mark and Brenda had just been discussing what a fine young woman Hannah was turning out to be. But enough was said that he learned the truth. The repercussions of that...." His voice drifted off as he shook his head.

"How did Mamma find out?"

He pursed his lips, distaste clearly evident on his face. "Once the lurid details became gossip fodder, it was only a matter of time before she found out. Your father hoped to make it easier on her by telling her himself."

"So he packed me off to the lake."

"Yes."

"Then made sure I knew as little as possible about Mamma's accident."

He paused before answering. "Yes."

"Why?"

"Mark was a good man, Carrie, but he wasn't perfect. Your mother's death didn't teach him that being open and honest was the best course of action. What he wanted, more than anything was to go back and make all the hurtful truths untrue. Barring that, he decided that the next best thing would be to make them never true for you."

"Derek said Mamma had been drinking."

"I don't recall Julie having more than a sip or two of wine in all the time I'd known her. According to her blood alcohol report, she had made up for that considerably." He finally looked toward her with compassion in his eyes. "They believe she had passed out before the crash. If it helps at all, she probably never felt the impact or her injuries."

"But what about Derek's father? Did he?"

Terrence's face reverted back to a more neutral appearance. She wondered if this was his courtroom look, if it had become such a habit that he was no longer aware he was doing it. "Mr. Hollingsworth expired en route to the hospital. I don't know anything about his state of consciousness before then."

"I see," she said. But her imagination had conjured up the heart-stopping moment of watching another car veer straight into his, and he unable to do anything about it. Even if he had been knocked unconscious with the crash, he had still seen his fate. Had it been long enough to know the fear?

"I assume you made the financial arrangements for Derek and his family?"

"Of course," he replied. "And I'm proud of that. Your Derek had been a mediocre student, at best. Having such an opportunity given to him spurred him to go out and actually make something of himself."

"With Daddy's continued investment."

He turned to face her fully. "Mark's money provided the seed, Caroline. Derek's hard work provides the harvest."

"Did Daddy buy him that car?"

This triggered a short, explosive laugh from him. "Good God, no! Do you imagine Mark had anything to do with that gaudy thing?"

Thinking of her father's sensible car parked in the drive of his middle class home, she realized how ridiculous the notion was. She had allowed Treacy's insinuations to cloud her judgement.

She sat quietly then, contemplating her next question. Terrence respected her silence, nibbling on a cookie as he waited for her. Finally, she settled on the one that had brought her here.

"How is it possible that I hired a broker to help me purchase a house that I already owned?"

He coughed, then grabbed a napkin to cover his mouth. "You've been busy," he said when he'd composed himself again. "I didn't realize that bit had come out."

Again, she raised her eyebrows and said nothing. His response this time was to chuckle. "Never should have taught you that. I do believe you wield it better than I do." He sighed when she still didn't speak. "Your daddy made me swear to him that I would never tell you any of this, you know. However, he did not say that I couldn't confirm what you discovered on your own. This will probably be a stretch of that logic, but so be it. Are you ready for a story, Baby Girl?"

Caroline settled deeper into her chair, crossed her arms, and waited for him to begin.