Rutherford was just about to apologise, which was something he would have never thought of doing before the meetings, seminars and conferences. However, a young man with a Jewish last name, horn-rimmed glasses and the title ‘Dr’ before his name had, just the day before, given a lecture on the importance of apologies. He had stated that apologies were necessary to the sustenance of any relationship, and that being able to apologise was a sign not of weakness but of strength. Real men – real leaders – knew the power of an apology and how to use it effectively. Perhaps, knowing full well that many in his audience would not believe him, the young man had presented a collection of examples of leaders apologising at crucial moments in history. Rutherford suspected that the collection was not very robust, and that the two examples that had actually been shared were probably all that there were. He did not want to apologise because he felt that it would be a sign of strength; he wanted to apologise because he knew that this move would take Joseth by surprise and perhaps make him think less of Rutherford, which would then make Joseth reveal more of his exact intentions.

Before Rutherford could utter a word, Joseth said, not looking at him, ‘It is getting cool. It will be dusk soon. It is probably best to head back.’

Rutherford realised that he had not needed to apologise in order for Joseth to think less of him. Joseth, in suggesting that they return to the bakkie, had shifted the balance of power between them. He had spoken carefully and calmly, thinking he was giving nothing away, but Rutherford knew that not all power struggles had to be violent.

Rutherford was certain that a few months, a few weeks ago even, Joseth would have said ‘sir’ at the end of every statement or question. He wondered, as he followed him back to the government-issued bakkie, if Joseth was attending meetings, seminars and conferences run by people who believed that they ‘knew the European’ and encouraged men like Joseth to remove words like ‘sir’, ‘baas’, ‘picaninny’, ‘baas’ and ‘madam’ from their vocabulary because such words no longer had a place in their workplace lexicon.

When Rutherford and Joseth arrived at their bakkie, they found the village headman, the two mujibhas and several other villagers waiting for them.