Wuthering Heights

Chapter 29

"All right, all right, that's all right!" Cathy replied. "He'll be all right now, and be quiet, and he's beginning to think that I'll be much worse off than he is to-night, if I believe he's sicker from my visit. Then I won't dare to come again. Seriously, Linton, because if I hurt you, I sure as hell can't come again."

"You must come and cure me," he answered. "You ought to come because you hurt me. You know I'm hurt, and bad! I wasn't so sick when you came in, did I?"

"But it was you crying yourself, you are too angry."

"I didn't hurt you at all," said his cousin. "But we can be friends now. You need me, and when would you like to see me, really?"

"I told you, I hope!" he replied impatiently. "Sit in the high chair and let me on your lap. Mother used to be like that, too, and we'd be together all afternoon. Sit down quietly, and don't make a sound, and if you can sing, sing a song, No more long funny ballads, like the ones you promised to teach me, and no more stories. But I like ballads better, let's go."

Catherine retells one of the longest ballads she can remember.The work made them both very happy.Lynton would tell one more, and another after that.In spite of my strong objections, they talked and talked, until the clock struck twelve, and we heard Hareton enter the yard, and he was back for lunch.

"Tomorrow, Catherine, will you come tomorrow?" When she stood up resignedly, little Heathcliff asked, grabbing her blouse.

"No!" I answered, "not the day after tomorrow." But she had evidently given a different answer, for as she leaned down and whispered in his ear, his forehead stretched open. .

"You can't go tomorrow, remember, miss!" I said when we came out of the house. "You didn't dream about coming, did you?"

she smiled.

"Oh, I've got to keep an eye on you!" I went on. "I'm going to fix that lock, there's no other way for you to get out."

"I can climb walls," she said with a laugh. "The Grange isn't a prison, Ellen, and you're not a warden. Besides. I'm almost seventeen. I'm a girl now. I'm sure Linton will get well soon with my care. I'm older than he, you know , and smarter than he is, and less childish, isn't he? Say something nice and he'll obey me right away. He's a sweet little darling when he's good. If he was mine, I'd Tell him to be good. We never quarrel. We know each other. Can we still quarrel? Do you like him, Ellen?"

"Like him?" I yelled. "Never seen such a terribly ill-tempered, sickly teenage little thing! Luckily, as Mr. Heathcliff surmises, he won't live to be twenty! I doubt he'll ever see spring, Really. Whenever he walks away, his family doesn't necessarily care. We were lucky that his father took him. The better you treat him, the more annoying and selfish he is! I'm glad you can No idea of ​​having him as a husband, Catherine!"

My companion heard this.Her expression became solemn, and her feelings were hurt by talking about his death so nonchalantly.

"He's younger than I am," she answered, after a moment's thought. "He ought to live longer, he can—he must live as long as I do. He's as strong now as he was when he first came North, I'm sure! He just has a cold, just like Papa. You said Papa would be all right, why shouldn't he be?"

"Well, well," I cried, "after all we don't make trouble for ourselves. Look, miss, remember it too, I can do it: if you want to come to Wuthering Heights again, with or without me , I will tell Mr Linton, and, unless he agrees, you and your cousin are not allowed to rekindle the old friendship."

"It's already warmed up!" she muttered indignantly.

"Then don't keep it warm!" I said.

"Let's see!" was her answer, and she trotted off, leaving me in pursuit.

We both got home before lunch.My master thought we were wandering in the garden, so he didn't ask where we were.As soon as I entered the door, I was eager to change my soaked shoes and socks, but I sat too long in the villa and brought disaster.The next morning, I was bedridden and unable to perform my duties for three weeks.There has never been a precedent for this catastrophe, and, thank God, it will never befall again.

My little mistress, like an angel, came to take care of me and bring joy to my solitude.Being locked up in my bedroom made me extremely depressed, and for a busy, active person, it was tiresome.But I had nothing to complain about, for Catherine, out of Mr Linton's room, appeared at my bedside.She divides us equally every day, and she doesn't have a minute of entertainment, leaving her diet, her study, and her play all behind her. She is such a beautiful nurse that I have never seen before.She must have a fiery heart, she loved her father so much, and gave me so much!
I said she gave us all the days, but the master went to bed early, and I usually didn't need anything after six o'clock, so the evenings were hers.

Poor thing, I never imagined what she was up to after tea.Although often when she leaned in to say good night to me, I saw a fresh blush on her cheeks, and red on her slender fingers, but I never thought that this color came from riding a horse galloping through the wilderness in the cold , I thought it was baked by the fire in the study.

Three weeks passed and I was able to get out of my bedroom and move about the house.The first night I could sit up, I asked Catherine to read me something, because my eyesight was still bad.We are in the study, and the master has gone to bed.She agreed, but I don't think she was very happy.I thought the books I liked were not to her liking, and let her read them as she pleased.

She picked out a book she liked, read it for an hour, and then kept asking questions.

"Alan, are you tired? It's better to lie down now? You won't be able to bear it for so long, Alan."

"No, no, baby, I'm not tired," I always say.

Seeing that I was unimpressed, she changed the course and showed that she was tired of the job.She yawned, stretched herself, and said:

"Ellen. I'm tired."

"Then stop reading and talk," I replied.

That's even worse.Embarrassed and sighing, she kept checking her watch until eight o'clock, and finally went back to her bedroom.Seeing her irritated and distressed expression, as well as the constant rubbing of her eyes with her hands, she must have been completely overwhelmed by sleepiness.

She seemed even more impatient the next night.On the third night of my recovery my companion left me complaining of headaches.

I thought she was behaving strangely, and after being alone for a while, I decided to go over and see if she was feeling better, and asked her to come and lie on the sofa instead of lying upstairs in the dark.

I didn't see Catherine upstairs or downstairs.The servants said they had not seen her.I leaned over Mr. Edgar's door and listened, and there was only silence.I went back to her bedroom, blew out the candle in my hand, and sat down by the window.

The moon was shining brightly, and a layer of snow covered the ground.I wondered if she had a whim and wanted to take a walk in the garden to clear her mind.I did spot a figure crawling along the inside of the garden fence.But that was not my little mistress. When the shadow appeared in the light, I recognized it as a groom.

He stood for a long time looking across the grounds at the carriage drive.Then he ran away quickly, as if he had noticed something, and appeared again in a second, leading the young lady's pony.That was her, just got off the horse, walking on the side of the horse.

The man led the horse stealthily across the meadow towards the stables.Cathy came in through the French windows in the living room and slipped noiselessly upstairs to where I was waiting for her.

She closed the door softly, took off her snow-stained shoes, and took off her hat. She didn't know that I was watching quietly. When she was about to take off her coat, I suddenly stood up and stood in front of her.She was taken aback and was at a loss for a moment. She gave a vague cry of surprise and stood there motionless.

"My dear Miss Catherine," I began, feeling so much for me of late, that I could not bear to scold her, "where have you been riding at this hour? Why do you lie to me and make up Talk? Where have you been, talk!"

"To the bottom of the garden," she stammered. "I'm not lying."

"Didn't go anywhere else?" I asked.

"No." She murmured.

"Oh, Catherine," I cried sadly, "you know you've done something wrong, or you wouldn't have been cornered to lie to me. That makes me sad. I'd rather be sick for three months than Listen to your deliberate efforts to weave lies."

She leaped forward and threw her arms around my neck, tears streaming down my face.

"Why, Ellen, I was afraid you would be angry," she said. "Promise me not to be angry. I'll tell you the truth right now. I hate being evasive."

We sat on the windowsill, and I promised her that I would never scold her, no matter what her secret was, of course I could guess it.So she began:
"I've been to Wuthering Heights, Ellen. I haven't missed a day since you were sick, except three times before you were able to go out, and two times after that. I gave Michael some books and pictures, and asked him to go out every day. You can't blame him for getting the Minnie ready for me at night and taking it back to the stables, remember. I arrive at the villa at 06:30, and usually stay until 08:30, and then go home as fast as I can. I'll go Not for fun, but often I am very distressed from the beginning to the end. Sometimes I am happy, about once a week. At first, I thought it would take a lot of talk to persuade you to let me fulfill my promise to Linton , but you saved me the trouble of staying upstairs that morning. When Michael re-locked the garden gate in the afternoon, I got the key and told him how much my cousin wanted me to see him because he was ill. , not being able to come to the Grange, and how papa objected to my visiting. Then I negotiated with him about horses. He liked to read, and thought he was going to leave and marry soon, so he said, if I lent the books in the study to He reads it, and that's what I want. But I'd rather lend him my own books, and that'll be more pleasing to him.

"Linton seemed in good spirits when I came a second time. Zilla, their housekeeper, made a clean room for us, lit a fire, and told us that Joseph was out to pray, Hareton Earnshaw I also took the dogs out, and I later heard that they came to my woods to poach pheasants, so we can do whatever we want.

"She gave me a little warm wine, and gingerbread, and seemed a very kind soul. Linton sat in the easy chair, and I sat in the little rocker on the hearthstone, and we talked and laughed happily. , found so much to say. We planned where we were going and what we were going to do in the summer. I don't need to repeat the words because you'd call it silly.

"However, once we almost had a quarrel. He said that in the hot July, the best way to pass the day is to lie on a grassy slope in the middle of the field from morning to night, listening to the bees buzzing among the flowers and talking sleepily." The skylark is singing and flying high above the head, the blue sky is cloudless, and the bright sun is shining on the earth. That is the happiness in heaven that he yearns for most. My ideal is to sit on a green tree and shake Swaying, the west wind is blowing, and the bright white clouds are flying over the top of the head. Not only skylarks, but also thrushes, mountain birds, cardinals and cuckoos are singing in all directions. Looking at the wilderness into lonely valleys, The long grass near by undulates in the breeze, and the woods and the murmuring water, and the whole world rejoice and wake up. He wants everything to be in a quiet joy, and I want everything to flicker and dance in a radiance in the joy of.

"I said his heaven was half dead, he said mine was drunk. I said I'd be sleepy in his heaven, he said he'd be breathless in mine, As he talked he got cranky. At last we agreed to try both paradises when summer came, and we kissed each other and became friends. After sitting quietly for an hour, I looked at the big There wasn't a single rug on the room, smooth floor. I thought it would be a nice place to play if the table was removed. I asked Linton to call Zilla to help. We wanted to come and play hide and seek, and let her catch us, Just like you used to, Alan, you know. He didn't want to, he said it wasn't fun, he wanted to play balls with me. We found two balls in a closet among a lot of old toys , there are tops, hoops, rackets, shuttlecocks, etc. One ball has a C on it, and the other has an H on it. I want the one with the C because that's Catherine's first letter, and H, would stand for Heathcliff, that's his name. But the chaff has leaked out of the H ball, and Linton doesn't want it.

"I always beat him, and he got angry again, and coughed, and went back to his chair. But he recovered his good temper that night without a hitch. He listened to two or three beautiful tunes, and fell into the That's all your song, Ellen. When I had to leave, he invited and begged me to come back the next evening, which I said yes to.

"Meanie galloped home with me, light as the wind. All night I dreamed of Wuthering Heights, my sweet, dear cousin.

"I was very sad the next day. Partly because you were sick, and partly because I wanted to let my father know and let him allow me to travel. But the night was beautiful after tea, and as I galloped all the way, my gloomy mood became brighter. .

"I shall have another merry evening, I thought, all the more cheered up by the thought that my dear Linton would enjoy it too.

"I ran the horse into their garden, and was about to turn the corner to go to the back of the house, when that fellow Earnshaw caught me, took me by the rein, and told me to go in the front. He patted Minnie's neck, said he was a fine horse, and he looked like he wanted to talk to me. I just told him not to touch my horse, or he would kick him.

"He grunted and agreed.

"'It doesn't matter if it kicks.' He smiled and looked at its legs.

"I almost wanted him to give it a kick. But he went and opened the door, and as he raised the latch, he looked up at the inscription on it, and said, with a mixture of foolish embarrassment and triumph:
"'Miss Catherine! I can read that stuff now.'

"'Excellent,' I exclaimed. 'Read it to us, you're getting wiser!'

"He spelled it out, syllable by syllable: 'Hareton Earnshaw'.

"'And the figure?' I called out to cheer him up, and I could see that he had stopped reading.

"'I can't tell,' he replied.

"'Oh, you idiot!' I said, laughing heartily at his failure.

"The fool was dumbfounded, with a smirk on his lips, but his brow was furrowed, as if he wasn't sure if he should laugh with me. Not sure if it was a friendly smile, or just what it was. As it is, contempt is expressed.

"I dispelled his doubts by making a sudden look down on him, and I asked him to go away, as I had come to see Linton, not him.

"He blushed, as I could see by the moonlight. He dropped his hand from the deadbolt, and slinked away in a disgraceful manner. I think he thought he was as wise as Linton, and that he Because he spelled his own name, and because I didn't feel the same way, I was really embarrassed."

"Shut up, Miss Catherine, little darling!" I put in. "I don't scold you, but I don't like your behavior there. If you remember that Hareton is your cousin, like Master Heathcliff, you will think how rude it is to treat him like this. At least He hopes to be as educated as Linton, and he is commendably motivated. Perhaps he did not study purely for show. You have put him to shame before, knowing that he has no knowledge, I have no doubt. He Deliberately trying to make up for the shortcomings, to make you happy. It is uneducated for you to laugh at the unsuccessful efforts. If you were brought up in his environment, would you be less rough than him? He was with you So clever, and now I am sorry that he is despised, and it is all the fault of that wretched Heathcliff."

"Well, Ellen, you're not going to cry about it, are you?" she cried, startling her with my earnestness. "But wait a minute, and you'll hear him talk about whether ABC pleases me, and whether it's worth being polite in return for rudeness. I went in, and Linton was lying in the high-backed chair, slumped. welcome me.

"'I am sick to-night, Catherine, dear,' said he, 'and you must speak for yourself, and let me listen. Come and sit by me. I knew you would not break your word, Before you go, I want you to make a wish for me."

"I knew I mustn't tease him at this moment, because he was ill. I talked softly and didn't ask questions, so as not to make him angry at all. I brought him my best book for a few minutes. Ben, he wanted me to read some of one of them to him, and I was about to speak when Earnshaw burst open the door and came in. He was thinking about it, and the more he thought about it, the more he got angry. He came towards us and grabbed Linton's arm pulled him off the couch.

"'Go to your own rooms!' said he, almost speechless with excitement, his face flushed with rage. 'If she's coming to see you, take her there. You can't throw me out of the house. .Fuck, both!'

"He swore at us viciously, and without giving Linton an answer, threw him almost into the kitchen with his hands. When I followed, he clenched his fists, as if he wanted to knock me down. I was frightened for a moment, and there was a book The book fell to the ground, and he kicked it back behind us, shutting us out.

(End of this chapter)