A Debt of Honour – Episode 07
A Debt Of Honour
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- 6. A Debt of Honour – Episode 06
- 7. A Debt of Honour – Episode 07
- 8. A Debt of Honour – Episode 08
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Ellie stared at her mother.
“You were supposed to marry someone else, then ran away with Dad?” she said faintly.
“We knew nothing about that.”
“Why should you?” Shauna asked tiredly. “It was all before your time.”
“Did Dad know?”
A faint smile appeared on Shauna’s face.
“I doubt it would have made any difference. I was down in London to see a show with some friends.
“We were sitting in a bar when this big bronzed Aussie came swaggering over to me, and asked if he could buy me a drink.”
Ellie was outraged.
“And you agreed? What happened to warning me never to accept a drink from a strange man?”
Shauna’s smile widened.
“Let’s say my advice was based on experience.” Shauna finished her cup of tea. “Any chance of a refill?”
“It will be stewed,” Ellie warned.
“That’s how good Australian tea should be – a handful of tea leaves boiled over an open fire in a billycan.”
Ellie shot out and was soon back, desperate to hear more.
“What was he like – the guy before Dad?”
“Very serious, very shy. We’d been going out for years.
“We agreed that we would get married when Neil finished studying for his bank exams.
“So he was studying to all hours, when I was gallivanting off with my friends to see ‘Gigi’.”
“Then you met Dad?”
“And he swept me off my feet – I never did make it to the show.
“Your dad could charm the birds out the trees, when he put his mind to it,” Shauna reminisced.
“Especially when he was short of money!
“He wasn’t that time. He threw his money about like confetti. I thought he must be a millionaire.
“He’d had a big win at the horses.
“His winnings could have kept a family for a year – but he blew the lot on a trip to London, and on giving me a good time.”
Ellie shook her head. There were moments when what you found out about your parents made them seem almost strangers.
“So what’s all this about a debt of honour?” she asked.
Shauna sighed.
“Neil was such a nice guy. When my own dad was raging at me for being such an idiot and going out to Australia, Neil said nothing.
“He drove me to the airport, in his dad’s old car. As I left him at the Departures gate, he slipped an envelope into my hand.
“‘Open it when you’re on the plane,’ he told me.
“I thought it was a farewell card.
“When I opened it, there were five fifty pound notes inside. And a message.
“‘Good luck, Shauna. This is to help you in any emergencies’ . . .”
“What a nice guy,” Ellie said quietly.
“You don’t know how nice. That two hundred and fifty pounds was about all his savings.”
Ellie reached out and took her mother’s hand.
“But five hundred – that’s what you said was in your envelope. Is that not overkill?”
“No. It’s an exact repayment. A couple of months after your dad died, I got another envelope.
“Inside was another two hundred and fifty pounds – and a second card. ‘So sorry, Shauna’.”
“How did he know where you were?” Ellie asked.
“I’ve no idea. The news must have travelled home through other people.”
Ellie frowned.
“Did you ever use the money?”
“I had to. I was going to send that first envelope back to him, once we’d settled down.
“Then your dad got fired from the sheep ranch, and we were on our beam ends in Brisbane.”
“He got fired?” Ellie was astonished. “Why?”
“The usual.” Shauna sighed. “One party too many. We had next to no money.
“And with Charlie needing food and clothes, Neil’s money kept us going until your dad was earning again.”
“Oh, dear,” Ellie said limply. “And the second?”
“When your dad died, he left us just about spent out.
“Neil’s money kept you and Charlie alive until I found a proper full-time job.”
Shauna looked up, and held her daughter’s eye.
“We couldn’t have survived without Neil,” Shauna said quietly.
“Ever since old Bessie left me her shop, I’ve planned to return to Scotland.”
Ellie swallowed.
“I never knew,” she said again.
“You were too young to know. This is the chance I’ve been waiting for. I’m here for your graduation.
“But while I’m here, I want to try to find the man who helped me, and thank him to his face.”
“So where is he, this guy you left behind?”
“That’s just it,” Shauna said. “I have no idea.”