If it became unbearable, she’d make him leave. It would only take one call to the administrative office to get him reassigned. With that comforting thought in her mind, she drifted off to sleep.
Lewis, however, couldn’t seem to get to sleep. No matter how he arranged himself, sleep just wouldn’t come. It was difficult knowing that somewhere in the village Venetia was going to bed without him. But before the old frustration could surface, he took a deep breath and promised himself that he would be patient.
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He’d never had to wait for the things he wanted in life he now realized, either they’d been bought for him or he’d been able to get them himself. Now the one thing he wanted the most was just out of his reach. He’d have to learn to wait, that much was clear, but the waiting would be hard. Knowing that he might leave here without Venetia was a thought that kept him awake at night, but if he wasn’t careful that was exactly what would happen.
He wished that there was someone he could talk to about this, but he still didn’t know if Max and Venetia were more than friends. He’d seen them talking at dinner that night and they’d seemed awfully friendly. He knew that those were unfair thoughts, but his jealousy fueled them. Frustrated, he got up and went outside to pace.
Finally, he wandered over to the fire in the middle of the village and sat down with the other men gathered there. He’d seen them there each night but had been too uncomfortable to join them. But tonight he didn’t care if they ignored him, at least he wouldn’t be alone with his thoughts, company of any kind would be a welcome distraction.
The men looked at him when he sat down, and one of the old men handed him a bottle, He took a swig then coughed when the fiery liquid slid down his throat, burning all the way to his stomach. The men laughed and one of them pounded on his back until he started breathing again.
“You look like a man who needs to unload his troubles,” the old man said, handing him the bottle again. Lewis took a more cautious sip this time, then decided maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to get some advice. These men would certainly have a different perspective on what he needed to do to win Venetia back.