Thanks so much for the kind words -- I'm so glad you liked this. It was my first attempt at writing Millicent as a main pov character so I'm thrilled that she went over as well as she did. It was hard writing her in this situation -- she kept wanting to do/say more and of course, she couldn't. But she couldn't be a wimp either.
One of the requests was forced bonding and the idea that the Ministry could and would force indentured servitude on people didn't seem that far fetched, as horrible as it is. I always love writing Charlie so I'm glad he came off the way he was supposed to. Thanks again. :)