Glittering Gallows

Chapter 31

193 C Chapter 31 aving nothing to occupy her and enjoying the freedom to do as she pleased as granted by Moagi Makgunda, Heidi Gaynor stood at the stables and watched the stable master and a hand strap a saddle and stirrups on a horse. Standing in the sun outside a lazy-man door with the top half open, she admired the black horse the men had selected for her. She was in a black cowgirl hat, an Apple Guipuire purple lace crop-top and a pair of black stretcher jean trousers tucked in flatheeled Mohican-style boots. Her midriff was a white sash. A ring hung from her navel. The stable master and the hand stole glances at her exposed mid-section. The stalls held a dozen horses, neighing excitedly and chewing hay. Her knowledge of horses convinced her all of them were thoroughbreds capable of winning races in Cape Town, Durban or the Arab Emirates. The animals were elegantly tall bundles of sinewy muscles. The sweet smell of horses and their dung hovered in the air. The stable master and his hand adjusted the saddle until it was between the withers and the horse’s croup. Then, drawing the horse by the reins, the assistant led him to the door, opened it and drew the animal outside. Heidi moved backwards to give them way, and also from fear. Being someone who hadn’t touched a horse or attempted horse-riding, the animal’s colour, eyes and size frightened her. The stable master exited the stall and closed the door behind him. He joined Heidi and his subordinate, and told her the name of the horse was Black Pepper. Except for his greying girth, he was totally black. Following the master’s instructions, she went to the horse, which stepped backwards nervously. She called him by his name, massaged him between his left shoulder and the withers and gradually moved to his muzzle. The horse warmed to her scent and touch to the satisfaction of the two men. They helped her mount and re-adjusted the stirrups. The assistant towing the horse, the chestnut bore her gently around H 194 the stables, the master walking beside her and instructing her to keep her weight on the stirrups. He urged her to relax and flow with the horse’s movements. Her fear of the animal waned. After about half an hour she was riding on her own around the stables and patting the animal. The stable master gave her the thumps-up sign. His assistant opened the main stable gate for her and she rode out gay and smiling. At a canter, she rode westwards towards the woods in the Randlord property. When she crossed the flower-, amphora- and palm-tree flanked driveway stretching from the property’s main gate to the mansion, she looked back over her shoulder and saw the two men waving at her. She waved back gaily and rode on until she came to a dirt road that took her to tall eucalyptus trees through whose boughs the wind whizzed coyly and rays of the morning sun filtered. Moagi Makgunda was in his administrative office at number 30 Simmonds St in Johannesburg’s Marshalltown. The children were in school. Katherine was alleged to be in a cocoon in her bedroom and still mourning the recent deaths of their relatives, Lerato and Lebokang Makgunda, of whom Moagi said she had loved and had been very close to. Heidi’s office, which was part of her residential quarters, was being furnished. Before she left for the stables, a truck brought a glass-surfaced L-shaped teak desk with two matching visitors’ chairs, an upright two-door refrigerator with an in-built freezer and some filing cabinets. More furniture, two laptops and other things would be delivered in the afternoon. From the look of things, she knew she was secure in her newfound position and she would be at the mansion for as long as the billionaire lived. At forty-one, the premier was young and looked healthy. Many years lay ahead of him. If at all something threatened her well-being; Mr Scott Randall, the agent whose intervention brought her into the business mogul’s world, would advise her accordingly. She was in constant communication with the silver-haired man, the man whose semi-nudity she saw at the Château Richelieu. It was unbelievable how they had met, and how this man who had appeared [3.137...