concept in material possessions. he was jealous of the man that owned it, knowing that his own entire year's income would not be sufficient for a down payment on the land alone.
'so i've got my flat,' he grinned ruefully, and coasted down to park in front of the line of garages.
it was not clear which was the correct entrance to use, and he chose at random from a number of paved paths that all led in the general direction of the house.
around a bend in this path he came on another spectacle. though smaller it had, if anything, a more profound effect on rod than the house had. it was a feminine posterior of equal grace and finesse of line, clad in helanka stretch ski-pants, and protruding from a large and exotic bush.
rod was captivated. he stood and watched as the bush shook and rustled, and the bottom wriggled and heaved.
suddenly, in ladylike tones there issued from the bush a most unladylike oath and the bottom shot backwards and its owner straightened up with her forefinger in her mouth, sucking noisily.
'it bit me!' she mumbled around the finger. 'damned stink- bug bit me!'
'well, you shouldn't tease them,' said rod.
and she spun round to face him. the first thing rod noticed were her eyes, they were enormous, completely out of proportion to the rest of her face.
'i wasn't-' she started, and then stopped. the finger came out of her mouth. instinctively one hand went to her hair, and the other began straightening her blouse and brushing off bits of vegetation that were clinging to her.
'who are you?' she asked, and those huge eyes swept over him.
this was fairly standard reaction for any woman between the ages of sixteen and sixty viewing rodney ironsides for the first time, and rodney accepted it gracefully.
'my name is rodney ironsides. i've an appointment to see doctor
'oh.' she was hurriedly tucking her shirt-tails into her slacks. 'my husband will be in his study.' he had known who she was.
he had seen her photographs fifty times in the group newspaper; but in them she was usually in full-length evening dress and diamonds, not in a blouse with a tear in one sleeve nor pig-tails that were coming down.
in the pictures her make-up was immaculate, now she had none at all and her face was flushed and de wed with perspiration.
'i must look a mess. i've been gardening,' said theresa steyner unnecessarily.
'did you do this garden yourself?'
'only a very little of the muscle work, but i planned it she answered.
she decided he was big and ugly no, not really ugly, but battered-looking.
'it's beautiful,' said rod.
'thank you.' no, not battered-looking, she changed her mind, tough-looking, and the chest hair curled out of the v of his open neck shirt.
'this is a protea isn't it?' he indicated the bush from which she had recently emerged. he was guessing.
'nutans,' she said; he must be in his late thirties, there was greying at his temples.
'oh, i thought it was a protea 'it is. 'nutans' is its proper name. there are over two hundred different varieties of proteas she answered seriously. his voice didn't fit his appearance at all, she decided. he looked like a prize fighter but spoke like a lawyer, probably was one. it was usually lawyers or business consultants who came calling on manfred.
'is that so? it's very pretty.' rod touched one of the blooms.
'yes, isn't it? i've got over fifty varieties growing here.' and suddenly they were smiling at each other. 'i'll take you up to the house, said theresa steyner.
mr ironsides is here, manfred.'
'thank you.' he sat at the stinkwood desk in a room that smelled of wax polish. he made no effort to rise from his seat.
'would you like a cup of coffee?' theresa asked from the doorway.
'or tea?'
'no, thank you,' answered manfred steyner without consulting rod who stood beside her.
'i'll leave you to it, then,' she said.
'thank you, theresa.' and she turned away. rod went on standing where he was, he was studying this man of whom he had heard so much.
manfred steyner appeared younger than his forty-two years. his hair was light brown, almost blond, and brushed straight back. he wore spectacles with heavy black frames, and his face was smooth and silky -looking, soft as a girl's with no beard shadow on his chin. his hands that lay on the polished desk top were hairless, smooth, so that rod wondered if he had used a depilatory on them.
'come in,' he said, and rod moved to the desk. steyner wore a white silk shirt in which the ironing creases still showed, the cloth was snowy white and over it he wore a royal johannesburg golf club tie, with onyx cuff links.
suddenly rod realized that neither shirt nor tie had ever been worn before; that much was true of what he had heard then. steyner ordered his shirts hand-made by the gross and wore each once only.
'sit down, ironsides.' steyner slurred his vowels slightly, just a trace of a teutonic accent.
'mr. steyner,' said rod softly, 'you have a choice. you may call me rodney or mr. ironsides.' there was no change in steyner's voice nor expression.
'i would like to go over your background, please, mr. ironsides, as a preliminary to our discussion. you have no objection?'
'no, doctor 'you were born october 16th, 1931, at butterworth in the transkei. your father was a native trader, your mother died january 1939. your father was commissioned captain in the durban light infantry and died of wounds on the pa river in italy during the winter of 1944. you were raised by your maternal uncle in east london.
matriculating from queen's college, grahamstown, in 1947, you were unsuccessful in obtaining a chamber of mines scholarship to witwatersrand university for a b.sc. (mining engineering) degree. you enrolled in the gmts (government mining training school) and obtained your blasting ticket during 1949. at which time you joined the blyvooruitzicht gold mining company ltd as a learner miner.' doctor steyner stood up from his desk and crossing to the panelled wall he pressed a concealed switch and a portion of the panelling slid back to reveal a wash basin and towel rack. as he went on talking he began very meticulously to soap and wash his hands.
'in the same year you were promoted to miner and in 1952 to shift boss, 1954 to mine captain. you successfully completed the examination for the mine manager's ticket in 1959, and in 1962 you came to us as an assistant underground manager, and in 1968 you achieved your present position as underground manager.' doctor steyner began drying his hands on a snowy white towel.
'you've memorized my company record pretty thoroughly,' rod admitted.
doctor steyner crumpled the towel and dropped it into a bin below the wash basin. he pressed the button and the panelling slid closed, then he came back to the desk stepping precisely over the glossy polished wooden floor, and rod realized that he was a small man, not more than five and a half feet tall, about the same height as his wife.
'this is something of an achievement,' steyner went on.
'the next youngest underground manager in the entire group is forty-six years of age, whereas you are not yet thirty-nine.' rod inclined his head in acknowledgement.
'now,' said doctor steyner as he reseated himself and laid his freshly washed hands on the desk top. 'i would like briefly to touch on your private life you have no objections?' again rod inclined his head.
'the reason that your application for the chamber of mines scholarship was refused, despite your straight a matriculation, was the recommendation of your headmaster to the selection board in effect that you were of unstable and violent disposition.'
'how the hell did you know that? 'ejaculated rod.
'i have access to the board's records. it seems that once you had received your matric you immediately assaulted your former headmaster.'
i beat the hell out of the bastard,' rod agreed happily.
'an expensive indulgence, mr. ironsides. it cost you a university degree.' and rod was silent.
'to continue, in 1959 you married patricia anne harvey. of the union was born a girl child in the same year, to be precise, seven and a half months after the wedding.' rod squirmed slightly in his chair, and doctor steyner went on quietly.
'this marriage terminated in divorce in 1964. your wife is suing you on the grounds of adultery, and receiving custody of the child, alimony and maintenance in the sum of 450 rand monthly.' 'what's all this about?' demanded rod.
'i am attempting to establish an accurate picture of your present circumstances. it is necessary, i assure you.' doctor steyner removed his spectacles and began polishing the lens on a clean white handkerchief.
there were the marks of the frames on the bridge of his nose.
'go on, then.' despite himself, rod was fascinated to learn just how much steyner knew about him.
'in 1968 there was a paternity suit brought against you by a miss.
