I've been trying out different versions of the linux-devel lilypond installer, I keep around old ones just in case something's broken. So I installed each one from 2.9.9 up to 2.9.14.
The bug with ghostscript appears in version
2.9.11 and up.
It's a pity because the \bendAfter is quite useful, me being a guitar teacher, I find it practical for notating bends together with the parenthesize, as is done in conventional guitar magazines. And this characteristic does not appear until
2.9.12 or .13, I'm not sure.