venting, venting, venting

How do you deal with unreasonable people? How do you make peace with someone who refuses you? And what do you do when your membership in a large group mandates contact with this person?
I currently have someone who is adamant about being a thorn in my side. She feels that I have greatly wronged her. I feel that I have done nothing wrong. She refuses to listen and has now taken (what I feel to be) a small thing and blown it up to be a huge ongoing deal.
I am not asking to be great friends with her, and I never was very good friends with her from the start. But I refuse to carry a grudge against her. I simply want her to grow up and be civil toward me- if nothing else, than for the sake of the well-being of the group.
It’s getting to the point where people are noticing. And the fact that others are becoming aware of our tiny little drama- well, that’s just bad form. I feel like she is trying to sway people to her side, to convince them that I am a bad person. This is what really kills me. The feeling that I am being misunderstood by people who don’t know the whole story. And what is so frustrating is that the most productive thing I can do is ignore everything and just let it die. Accept the fact that people may get the wrong idea of me from her. Accept the fact that I have to lead with my words and actions toward others from here on out. That I can only convince people over time.
I really am trying to be the better person. I feel like I’ve been doing an admiral job so far. But all it takes is one tiny slip-up and I assume that everyone is against me. I actually care that people respect me. I care that people don’t think I am trying to stir up trouble. But that’s me. That’s my burden.