In Chopin's "Desiree's Baby", the use of inference is very important. Readers are first cued in to there being issues with Desiree and Armand's baby when her mother arrives and talks about how much the baby has changed. Active readers know here that something is out of sorts.
The visitors to L'Abri are coming to see what Armand's slaves are rumoring about. The frequent visitors are coming to see the baby based upon rumors that something is just not right about the child. This information is implied, not stated.
By the end, readers come to know that the child is part black. Slaves, during this period, would recognize black characteristics in a child. They would then leak out the information to others that there was the potential that Armand's child was part black. This could ruin both Armand's names and the respect others held for him.
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