Wuthering Heights From the story by Emily Bronte

«Like him!» I exclaimed. «He’s the most selfish boy I’ve ever met, and I don’t think he’ll live until he’s twenty. I’m pleased you won’t be marrying him. And if you’ve any ideas of visiting Wuthering Heights again, I’ll tell your father, and you know what that would do to him!»

I must have caught a cold on our walk to the Heights, because the next day I was forced to stay in bed. For three weeks I didn’t leave my room and during that time Catherine behaved like an angel, dividing her days between her father’s room and mine. But I never thought to ask myself what she did in the evenings. Sometimes, I noticed that her cheeks looked very pink when she came to say goodnight to me, but I thought she had been sitting by the fire.

On the first day that I was up again, I asked Miss Catherine to keep me company after tea, but she was very restless. Eventually, she told me she was ill and went off to bed early. Later that evening, I went up to her room and discovered it was empty! So I sat in the dark, waiting for her to return.

At last, Catherine crept in silently. She was just shaking the snow off her clothes when I stood up.

«Miss Catherine!» I said, more sad than angry. «Why you have been deceiving me? And how long has this been going on?»

Soon, she had told me the whole story. For the past three weeks she had been riding over to Wuthering Heights every night. She and Linton had spent every evening together. Sometimes they had been happy, when he made an effort to be less selfish, but most of the time she had been miserable. But, in spite of his difficult moods, Catherine insisted she must keep visiting her cousin – he needed her so badly, and she wanted to make him happy. She tried to make me promise not to tell her father, but I knew that things had gone too far.

I went straight to Mr. Edgar’s study and told him all I knew. He was shocked and upset, and the next morning he told Catherine she must never visit the Heights again. Nothing she could say would make her father change his mind, and she knew she had to obey him, even though it made her very sad.

A few days later, my master asked me to tell him truthfully what I thought of young Linton.

«He’s very delicate, sir,» I replied, «and he can be selfish, but he isn’t like his father. I don’t think he is thoroughly wicked.»

Edgar sighed and looked out towards the churchyard.

«I’ve often prayed for death, Nelly, so that I can join my beloved Cathy again. But now I’m afraid of what will happen to Catherine. Young Linton will inherit the Grange when I’m dead, and then where will she live? Perhaps it would be best if Catherine married him.»

«All we can do is wait and see what happens,» was the best answer I could give.

Spring arrived, and Mr. Edgar was no better. I could see he was desperately worried about Miss Catherine’s future and, in the end, he decided to do something about it. So he wrote a letter to Linton inviting him to the Grange. The boy replied immediately, saying his father would not allow him to visit the Grange, but perhaps he could meet his cousin for a ride? Edgar was very unhappy about this, because he wasn’t strong enough to accompany his daughter. But after some more letters from Linton – most of which I’m sure were written by Heathcliff– Edgar at last agreed to a meeting.

It was summer by the time Catherine and I set out on our first ride to meet her cousin. We had arranged to meet at the edge of Thrushcross Park, but then a messenger arrived to tell us Master Linton was up on the moors. I was very worried about this change of plan, and I became even more concerned when I saw the state he was in. Linton was lying back on the heather, struggling to breathe. Catherine looked at him in horror.

«Oh Linton, are you very ill? You seem so much worse.»

«No, I’m better. Really, I’m better,» he insisted. But his large blue eyes filled with tears.

Catherine tried her best to comfort him, but he didn’t seem to want to talk to her at all, and he kept glancing fearfully back at the Heights.

«I think you should go home,» Catherine told her cousin. «I can see my tales and chatter don’t amuse you any more.»

This suggestion made Linton very agitated and he clasped her hand, begging her not to go. «Please stay for another half an hour,» he pleaded. «My father will be so angry with me if you go.»

I immediately suspected some plot^[83] of Heathcliff’s and wanted to leave immediately. But Catherine agreed to stay a little longer, and she sat beside her cousin while he dozed and whimpered. Before we left, Linton made Catherine promise to meet him again at the same place in a week’s time.

We rode back to the Grange together, troubled and unhappy. I advised Miss Catherine to tell her father as little as possible about our meeting – he was now very ill, and I didn’t want to worry him with news about his nephew.