and Cathy
Hindley Earnshaw came back to Wuthering Heights for the funeral, and much to our surprise he brought a wife with him. Her name was Frances and she was very young and lively, with eyes that sparkled as brightly as diamonds. I did notice that climbing the stairs made her breathe very fast, and she had a troublesome cough, but I had no idea then what those signs could mean.
Hindley soon made sure that we knew who was master. He ordered Joseph and me to stay in the kitchen and leave the rest of the house to him and his wife. Cathy was allowed to continue her lessons, but Heathcliff had to work on the farm. He ate all his meals with the servants and slept in an attic room in the roof.
At first, Heathcliff put up with this treatment patiently, because he still saw Cathy every day. She taught him everything she learned and spent all her spare time playing with him. Hindley didn’t care what Cathy and Heathcliff did together so long as they kept out of his way, and they soon became completely wild. Their greatest treat was to run off up to the moors, and stay out there by themselves all day. It frightened me to see the two of them growing up like untamed animals – I was afraid of how things might end.
One rainy Sunday evening, Cathy and Heathcliff were in trouble for making too much noise, so Hindley sent them out of the house. But when I called them in for supper they were nowhere to be seen. I spent the rest of the evening searching for them, but at nine o’clock Hindley bolted all the doors, and swore he wouldn’t let them in that night. Everyone went to bed, but I was much too worried to sleep so I sat by my bedroom window listening for noises. Eventually, I heard footsteps coming up the lane and saw the light of a lantern glimmering through the gate. I threw a shawl over my head and ran out to find them.
I expected to see the two of them by the gate, but there was only Heathcliff, soaked to the skin[21].
«Where’s Miss Cathy?» I called out in fright.
«At Thrushcross Grange,» he replied, «and I should be there too, but they didn’t have the manners to ask me to stay.»
«Well, you’ll be in trouble when the master hears about this,» I said crossly. «But why did you go so far away?»
«Just let me get out of my wet clothes, Nelly, and I’ll tell you all about it.»
I warned Heathcliff to be quiet, to avoid waking Hindley, and while he undressed, he told me the whole story…
«Cathy and I were running over the moors together, when we saw the lights on in the Grange, and decided to see how Edgar and Isabella Linton spent their evenings. Do you think they are forced to stand shivering outside like us, Nelly, while their parents roast themselves beside the fire[22]? So, we raced all the way from the Heights to Thrushcross Park without stopping once, and Cathy lost her shoes. Then we crept through a broken hedge and groped our way up a path, and stood on a flowerpot just under a low window.
«The living room curtains were still open so we could see right inside, and it was just like a palace – all crimson and gold. Edgar and Isabella had the room to themselves, and can you guess what they were doing? Isabella was lying screaming on the floor, shrieking as if witches were pushing needles into her skin, and Edgar was standing by the fire, weeping like a baby! And what do you think all the fuss was about? In the middle of the table was a little dog, shaking its paw and yelping – and nearly pulled in two by the spoiled brats! We laughed out loud at the idiots! What sort of fun do you think that was to quarrel over a stupid puppy dog? And when would you catch me arguing with Cathy or taking anything she wanted?»
«Anyway, we laughed so much that Cathy fell off the flowerpot. The Lintons heard the noise and raced to the door, and then you should have heard them howl! ‘Oh, mama, mama! Oh, papa! Oh, mama come here! They really did cry out like that! We both made horrible noises to frighten them some more, but then we decided we had better run away.
«We were running as fast as we could, when Cathy suddenly fell over.
«‘Run, Heathcliff, run!’ she said. ‘They’ve let their bulldog loose and he’s got me by the ankle![23]’
«I could hear the dog’s terrible snorting, but Cathy didn’t yell out – she would have been ashamed to cry. I started swearing at the beast and had just managed to find a stone to thrust between its jaws, when at last a servant appeared with a lantern and hauled the beast away.
«The man lifted Cathy up in his arms. She had fainted – not from fear, I’m sure, but from pain – and I followed him into the house, shouting and swearing.
«‘What’s happening, Robert?’ called Mr. Linton from the entrance.
«‘Skulker’s caught a little girl, sir,’ he replied, ‘and there’s a lad here too, who looks like a real villain. They’re probably a pair of robbers planning to creep through the window and murder us all in our beds.’
«Robert pulled me under the lamp so they could all take a look at me. Mrs. Linton put on her spectacles and peered in horror, and the cowardly children crept closer to her skirts.
«‘What a frightful thing!’ snivelled Isabella. ‘Lock him up in the cellar, papa. He’s a wicked boy!’
«While they were examining me, Edgar was staring at Cathy.
«‘That’s Miss Earnshaw!’ he whispered to his mother. ‘And look how her foot is bleeding and bruised!’
«‘Miss Earnshaw?’ cried Mrs. Linton. ‘Miss Earnshaw – roaming the countryside with a gypsy boy? But you’re right, it is the girl – and she may be lame for life!’
«‘How can her brother allow her out so late?’ said Mr. Linton. I’ve heard he neglects her terribly. And who’s this she has with her? I believe it’s the boy old Earnshaw found in Liverpool…’
«‘A wicked boy, in any case,’ his wife interrupted, ‘and quite unfit for a decent house. Send him away from here immediately!’
«Robert dragged me into the garden and locked the door behind me. But I crept back to the window, determined to shatter it into fragments if Cathy wanted to escape. The curtains were still open, and I could see everything. They had laid Cathy on a sofa and a servant was washing her feet, Isabella had emptied a plateful of cakes into her lap and Edgar was just standing there, gaping open-mouthed. After a while, they started to comb her beautiful hair, and gave her a pair of slippers to wear. Then they wheeled the sofa closer to the fire, and I left her, as cheerful as could be, surrounded by the Lintons, all gazing at her with their empty blue eyes… So you see, Nelly, the Lintons have my Cathy, and who knows when I shall see her again?»
In the end, Miss Cathy stayed at Thrushcross Grange for five weeks. By the end of that time, her ankle was completely better, and her manners had greatly improved as well. Mrs. Linton bought Cathy lots of fine new clothes, and when she returned to us, just before Christmas, she was a very different girl. Instead of the wild, hatless creature who used to rush into the house and squeeze the breath out of us all, a very dignified young lady arrived at the front door. She wore a beautiful silk dress and a long velvet cloak that she had to lift up when she walked. On her head was a velvet hat with a feather, and her wild hair had been tamed and arranged in ringlets[24] around her face.
Hindley was
soaked to the skin – насквозь промокший
roast themselves beaside the fire – греются у огня
They’ve let their bulldog loose and he’s got me by the ankle! – Они выпустили бульдога, и он схватил меня за лодыжку!
tamed and arranged in ringlets – уложены в аккуратные локоны
