diff --git a/metropolis/node/core/consensus/configuration.go b/metropolis/node/core/consensus/configuration.go
index 552b81d..6c07ee7 100644
--- a/metropolis/node/core/consensus/configuration.go
+++ b/metropolis/node/core/consensus/configuration.go
@@ -155,6 +155,6 @@
 	socket := c.Ephemeral.ClientSocket.FullPath()
 	return clientv3.New(clientv3.Config{
 		Endpoints:   []string{fmt.Sprintf("unix://%s:0", socket)},
-		DialTimeout: time.Second,
+		DialTimeout: 2 * time.Second,
 	})
 }
diff --git a/metropolis/node/core/consensus/consensus.go b/metropolis/node/core/consensus/consensus.go
index 5daa02f..fff95b0 100644
--- a/metropolis/node/core/consensus/consensus.go
+++ b/metropolis/node/core/consensus/consensus.go
@@ -341,8 +341,9 @@
 	// Start the bootstrap etcd instance...
 	server, err := embed.StartEtcd(cfg)
 	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("failed to start etcd: %w", err)
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to start bootstrap etcd: %w", err)
 	}
+	defer server.Close()
 
 	// ... wait for it to run ...
 	select {