Leila takes a deep breath. She's taking her time to answer, not because she's offended, but because she refuses to sound defensive. What Margaret said is true. Her daughter did run away with a man. And she was gone for five days.
The only reason it didn't become a public scandal was Arthur.
Her son cleaned the mess before anyone even sniffed it.
Leila being this careful isn't her default. Normally she's warm, open, and approachable — but facing these… witches, she has to tread lightly.
Unfortunately, her silence and caution are instantly misread as confirmation.
The gasps get louder.
"A young maiden doing something like that!"
"Can she even be called a maiden anymore?"
"She must be a terrible mother, how could she let her daughter run off like that?"
"And the family didn't search for her? Five days?"
"Maybe they knew it was already too late to fix anything!"
"Oh my god, how horrendous!"
