Jezunya
It's a secret, a terrible, precious, secret, and it's one that she knows would destroy him. But er brother's happiness is the most important thing in the world, and so she will keep this silence.
It's what he is - not just now, but always: sterile. Impotent. It's a relief, really. So many demands he will never have to fulfill, hungry faces he'll never have to meet. Maybe now Mother will finally leave off the wife hunt. Maybe now he'll finally get some peace.
The dried flowers are all that's left in the empty kitchen now, brittle and dead in their little vase on the window sill. Eleanor sighs, fingers a once-velvety leaf, and finally tips them out into the trash.
The trees fall in on themselves, crumbling like dominoes. The earth shudders, heaves, finally lies still. Wenn finally uncovers her head when all is calm again, peeks out to witness the ruin of her home.