Wuthering Heights From the story by Emily Bronte

«Now, miss, you mustn’t think like that,» I said firmly. «I’m sure your father has many happy years ahead of him. Just you make certain you don’t do anything to upset him, and he is sure to recover soon.»

We walked on for about an hour, but just as we were arriving back at our gate, a man on a horse came riding by. I recognized him immediately. It was Heathcliff.

«Miss Linton!» he called out. «I’m very glad to meet you. Please don’t rush away.»

«I won’t speak to you, Mr. Heathcliff,» answered Catherine. «Papa says I must have nothing to do with you^[79].»

«It’s my son I’ve come about^[80], not me. You’ve played a cruel trick on him – first sending him love letters and then plunging him into despair^[81]. In fact, he’s so miserable now that I think he’s going to die. He’ll be dead before the summer unless you can help him!»

«How can you lie to her like that?» I called out crossly. «Miss Catherine, don’t listen to his nonsense. No one can die of love for a stranger.»

«I swear Linton is dying,» repeated Heathcliff solemnly. «Come and visit him next week and bring Nelly with you. I shall be away, so your father won’t be angry with you.»

Of course, Miss Catherine was desperate with worry.

«I shan’t feel happy until I’ve seen him, Nelly. I must tell Linton that it’s not my fault I haven’t written, and I must convince him there’s no hope for the two of us.»

I tried my best to change her mind, but she was determined to go, and the very next morning we set out for Wuthering Heights. I hoped young Linton would be so uninterested in her that Catherine would see immediately that Heathcliff was lying.

We found Linton on his own, sitting in a chair by the fire and looking very weak and ill. Catherine raced towards him.

«Is that you, Catherine?» he said, slowly raising his head. «No – don’t kiss me, it takes my breath away. Father said you would call. Would you shut the door? I hate being cold.»

«Well, Linton,» Catherine began, when she had closed the door and he had stopped frowning. «Aren’t you pleased to see me?»

«Why didn’t you come before?» he answered peevishly. «You should have come then, instead of writing. It wore me out^[82] writing those long letters. And now I’m too tired to do anything at all.»

Catherine asked Linton anxiously what she could do to help and, while she was pouring him a drink, her cousin continued, «Father told me you stopped writing because you despised me.»

«No, I don’t despise you, Linton! After papa and Nelly, I love you better than anyone else in the world.»

«And will you come and visit me again?»

«Of course,» said Catherine, stroking his long, soft hair. «If only papa would allow it, I’d spend half my time with you. Pretty Linton! I wish you were my brother, then we could be together all the time.»

«But father says that if you were my wife you’d love me better than anyone else in the world, and that’s what I want.»

«I could never love anyone more than papa,» Catherine said seriously. «You know that sometimes men can hate their wives. Papa told me your father hated your mother and that’s why she left him.»

«That’s not true,» said the boy. «And anyway your mother hated your father, and she loved mine!»

«You little liar! I hate you now!» Catherine snapped, her face red with fury.

«She did! She did!» shouted out Linton, leaning forward to see if she would cry.

Catherine gave her cousin’s chair a violent push, and he fell backwards, coughing violently. His coughing fit lasted so long that even I was frightened, and Catherine was terrified that she had really hurt him. But at last he recovered.

«How do you feel now, Linton?» she asked anxiously «I’m so sorry I hurt you. I thought it was only a little push. Don’t let me go home thinking I’ve hurt you.»

«I can’t speak to you now,» he sulked. «You’ve hurt me so much I’ll lie awake all night choking with this cough. And I was feeling better before you came!»

«Come, Miss Catherine,» I said, trying to hurry her away. «You can see Linton isn’t dying of love for you. And there’s nothing you can do to make him feel better. So come with me and we’ll leave him to sleep.»

I had a very hard time persuading her to leave. And I was alarmed to see, just before we left, that she was whispering something in Linton’s ear.

On our way home, I told Catherine she must never see Linton again, but she only smiled at me.

«The Grange is not a prison, Nelly and you are not my jailer. And, besides, I’m almost seventeen years old. I’m sure that Linton would recover if I was looking after him. He’s a pretty little darling when he’s good, and I’d make such a pet of him that we would never quarrel.»

I frowned to hear this.

«Don’t you like him, Nelly?»