Andrew went back to the pit, but his conversation with Boarensky lay uneasy on his mind. He was so distracted that he paid little attention to the men and their work. He finally came to a decision and got up. The men carried on working, not paying him any mind. Andrew rarely, if ever, left the men unsupervised. He shrugged and headed back to camp.

On his way to his tent, he struggled with how he was going to broach this topic with his wife. As he got nearer, however, he realized that voices were coming from inside. He slowed his step and when he reached, flattened himself to the side of the tent.

"You shouldn't be here." His wife said, her voice worried.

"What are you afraid of? Your husband is down at the pit. No one knows I'm here." Kairo's voice came to a dumbfounded Andrew. 

"But still… you shouldn't say things like that."

A less cautious man would have whipped back to tent flap to reveal the pair. But Andrew had the caution to spare. 

The two voices dropped and Andrew could hear them talking quietly, although he could not make out the words. That is until Kairo's voice rose in anger.

"You yourself said you were dissatisfied with your husband. That he is not the man you thought him to be. What happened to all of that? To you and I, leaving with our share of gold? You coming back to my village?"

Andrew waited, an ache in his chest almost physical in nature. 

"It's not that simple Kairo. I… I made a vow. I'm a married woman. I know what I said, but I was… I was… depressed at the time."

There was complete silence. Even the birds in the trees around the camp seemed to have stopped singing, as though they too were straining to hear the outcome of this lovers' quarrel.

"Did you vow to stay in a loveless marriage? Is that what you really vowed?" Kairo asked quietly.

"For better or for worse. In sickness and in health" The confidence had returned to Sondra's voice. "Whatever his flaws, my husband means well. He genuinely cares about everyone working under him, including you. I will not disrespect him and run off with you to God knows where. My marriage needs work, that's all. And you need to leave."

Andrew casually stepped away from the tent, as Kairo came storming from it. When he saw Andrew standing there, there was a look of shock and horror on the Indian's usually expressionless face. He quickly recovered, however, and briskly made his exit towards the trees. Andrew watched him go, bitterness etched on his face and then he stepped into the tent.

His wife was cooking fish broth in a large pot when he got in. As a consequence, the entire tent was smothered in heat. Sondra herself had tied her shirt up around her midriff and her long, curly hair was tied up in a messy bun with a few escaping ringlets. Even so, the sweat coursed down her neck and into her cleavage.

She gave a guilty start when she saw Andrew approaching, then busied herself around the pot. 

“What’s wrong?" Andrew’s tone was an innocent one.

“Oh, I just wasn’t expecting you back, that’s all.”

“So who else would you expect?”

Sondra sighed and put aside the ladle. 

“What do you want Andrew?"

“What do I want? What do I want? I… I want an explanation for why you would cheat on me!”

“Cheat on you?” she looked stunned. “What on earth are you talking about?"

Expert murder plotter and liar, Andrew thought as he looked at her shocked expression.

“I heard you and Kairo! Don’t lie to me woman.”

She turned back to the pot with an air of dismissal. 

“If you eavesdropped, then you must have heard me send Kairo away. He wanted me to go away with him. I’m still here, aren’t I?"

She had a point, but then Kairo’s words hit him again. 

You yourself said you were dissatisfied with your husband.

“Unacceptable! Something was going on between you two and I demand to know what it is!”

“We literally don’t have time for this Andrew!” She snapped as she spun around, ringlets of curls swinging into her face. “Insult me, take out your anger, massage your ego all you want after we get those radios! That’s our priority. We still need Kairo, he just told me that the grave, everything is ready and we can make a move tomorrow. Are you in or not?"

This made him pause. When he had come, it was with every intention of telling Sondra that he had changed his mind, that somehow Boarensky knew about their plot, that they’d have to find some other way to summon help.

You yourself said you were dissatisfied with your husband.

“Yes… yes, I’m ready. Let's do this.” Andrew said, clearing his throat. Sondra smiled and it was like the whole tent had been lit with a 20w LED bulb.

“Let’s do this,” she said, coming towards him with a sultry look in her eyes, even as the pot bubbled away behind her.