And I swore we were done. Eight years on, and my husband had changed. He’d become selfish and violent and crude, the kind of man I counseled women a...out at the Crisis Center, the kind of man that women needed to fear and escape. And I swore I’d never take him back.But he came back. Contrite, humble. Wanting to work it out. Warily, pityingly, I took him back in. And now I was so, so, so glad that I did. Our marriage. Our marriage was saved. With a thumb I fiddled with my wedding ring. I’d get to. Who got his stinking breath up in my face." He grinned at the memory."Oh," she answered, at loss for words. Then she said, "I hope you aren't going to beat the crap out of me." Something in her demeanor suggested this had happened to her in the past, even though she tried to pass it off as a joke."Oh no, not unless you have a mouth full of rotting teeth and bad breath," he told her seriously. "Now your teeth look all right from here."Not certain how to respond, she changed the subject slightly,. With all good luck Will will return before his next daughter is born. I've been having words with the AI on that count. But its logic seems sound in some ways, that is that we must preload lots of women so that the next generation can be even larger. I expect that some places will be loading up on male babies too. Because we do seem to be having a problem with attrition in our military due to the fact that we haven't figured out how to cause major casualties to the Sa'arm without causing major. But how should she get herself in “trouble” this time in order for the diminutive, dark-haired Head Mistress to summon her to her house? This would be her fourth time since she had started visiting Amelia Marks at home in order to be treated like a naughty girl. The first time had been relatively easy. Amber had simply admitted that she wanted to find out what a spanking felt like after she had witnessed the young Head Mistress punishing two of the girls in her office. The next time, Amelia had.