I'd also add that in addition to the physical abuse, I found the hero's behavior to other women deeply disturbing. When the heroine arrives at her new home with her husband, she finds one of the sixteen year old maids is pregnant by her husband. The child is working as a maid at the keep because she was thrown out by her family after the hero seduced her and left her with child. The hero makes no provisions for the girl or his illegitimate child except allowing her to work in the keep, and nothing more is said about her welfare or the outcome for the baby.Even if this did happen in ancient times, (and lets be honest it still happens today) I don't want to read about it in a romance. It's not heroic behavior.