She had learned long ago that answering every accusation only gave Derek another opportunity to invent one.
He interpreted her silence as an invitation.
DEREK BENNETT:
"How long are you going to keep pretending that your job makes you special?"
A couple standing nearby stopped their conversation.
Caroline noticed them, but she did not turn toward them. She had no desire to turn a family disagreement into a public performance.
CAROLINE BENNETT:
"I'm here for the foundation. If you have a problem with me, we can discuss it somewhere private."
DEREK BENNETT:
"No. You always get to decide when conversations happen. Not tonight."
His voice had grown louder.
Several heads turned.
Caroline's expression remained controlled, although a familiar tension had begun to settle across her shoulders.
She knew this pattern.
Derek would provoke her, wait for a reaction, and then tell everyone that she was the difficult one. It had happened at family dinners, holiday gatherings, and even at their father's memorial service.
She had spent years trying to explain herself to people who had already decided what they wanted to believe.
Tonight, she refused to repeat that mistake.
CAROLINE BENNETT:
"I'm not going to argue with you."
Derek stepped closer.
DEREK BENNETT:
"Because you know you can't win."
Before Caroline could respond, another voice entered the conversation.
PATRICIA BENNETT:
"Derek, sweetheart, what's going on?"
Their mother approached from the direction of the main reception desk.
Patricia Bennett was sixty-eight, elegantly dressed in a magenta evening gown with gold jewelry at her throat and wrists. Her silver-blonde hair had been styled for the occasion, and her expression carried the practiced confidence of a woman accustomed to being welcomed into important rooms.
She looked first at Derek.
Then she noticed Caroline.
The warmth vanished from her face.
PATRICIA BENNETT:
"Caroline. I didn't realize you were coming."
CAROLINE BENNETT:
"I received an invitation from the foundation."
PATRICIA BENNETT:
"Yes, well, invitations are sent to a great many people."
Caroline held her mother's gaze.
CAROLINE BENNETT:
"Apparently."
Patricia's lips tightened at the answer.
Derek gave a humorless laugh, pleased that their mother had arrived to support him.
DEREK BENNETT:
"She thinks everyone should be impressed because she showed up wearing white."
PATRICIA BENNETT:
"Your brother has a point."
Caroline looked at her mother, momentarily wondering whether she had heard correctly.
PATRICIA BENNETT:
"You could have worn something more appropriate for a family event."
CAROLINE BENNETT:
"This is an official military function. The foundation specifically requested that participating service members attend in formal uniform."
PATRICIA BENNETT:
"Always an explanation. Always another rule that supposedly makes you different from everyone else."
CAROLINE BENNETT:
"I'm not trying to be different."
PATRICIA BENNETT:
"Then perhaps you should stop behaving as though you are."
A waiter passed behind them, slowing when he noticed the tension. He quickly continued toward the next table.
Caroline took a measured breath.
There had been a time when a single disapproving look from her mother could ruin an entire week. As a child, she had learned to anticipate Patricia's moods by the sound of her footsteps and the way she placed her handbag on the kitchen counter.
Derek had always been easier to please.
He received praise for ordinary accomplishments. His mistakes became misunderstandings. His ambitions were described as evidence of exceptional talent.
Caroline's achievements, by contrast, were treated as inconveniences whenever they threatened to draw attention away from him.
When she earned a scholarship, Patricia asked why she could not attend a university closer to home.
When she entered military service, Derek joked that she was running away from responsibility.
When she completed demanding assignments overseas, her mother asked why she never called often enough.
Caroline had once believed that if she worked hard enough, remained patient enough, and achieved enough, her family would eventually see her clearly.
Time had taught her otherwise.
PATRICIA BENNETT:
"Your brother has spent years building a respectable life. He understands how to deal with people."
CAROLINE BENNETT:
"I'm glad he's doing well."
DEREK BENNETT:
"Don't patronize me."
CAROLINE BENNETT:
"I wasn't."
DEREK BENNETT:
"You always do this. You act calm so everyone else looks unreasonable."
Caroline did not answer.
The music continued behind them, although the small group of guests nearby had become noticeably quieter.
Derek looked around and realized that several people were watching.
Rather than lowering his voice, he seemed determined to prove that he controlled the situation.
DEREK BENNETT:
"You know what your problem is? You think a title gives you the right to look down on the rest of us."
CAROLINE BENNETT:
"I have never looked down on you."
DEREK BENNETT: