With that, the passerby hurried away, leaving Eleanor standing in place as if nothing had happened. The street was quiet again, but an invisible weight pressed down on her shoulders.
Eleanor pressed her lips together tightly.
It was now glaringly obvious—Susan’s reputation had been shattered, her name dragged through the mud, leaving nothing but shame behind. She was a walking scandal, practically a public enemy.
But how had it come to this?
Eleanor had spent time with Susan. She knew her. Despite the quiet sadness that always clung to her like fog, Susan had been kind, soft-spoken, thoughtful, never one to speak ill of others. She was the sort of woman who carried her pain in silence, never burdening anyone else with it.
So what had really happened?