I read an article about Marie Antoinette on wikipedia and I found a sentence -The couple's longtime failure to consummate the marriage plagued the reputations of both Louis-Auguste and Marie Antoinette for the next seven years.
I am curious if it is right when I put 'had plagued' in it instead of 'plagued'. I guess that 'some affairs had plagued the reputation for seven years' means there is another affair that restores their reputation after seven years from that failure.
Am I right? Also, If there is any ambiguity or errors on my post due to my bad english, please correct me. Thank you