Chapter 22 Chapter Eighteen

The twelve years that followed that miserable period were the happiest of my life, continued Mrs. Dean.My biggest worry during those years was that our young lady had some insignificant ailments, which she and all children, rich or poor, had to go through.For the rest she grew up like a larch six months after the ground, and walked and talked in her own way before the weeds bloomed a second time over Mrs Linton's grave. up.She was the sweetest little thing that brought sunshine into a desolate house--a real beauty in the face, with the Earnshaws' handsome dark eyes, but the Lintons' fair skin and delicate beauty. features and curly yellow hair.She was always in high spirits without being rude, with a heart that was emotionally oversensitive and active.That very affectionate manner reminds me of her mother; but she is not like her; for she can be docile and docile like a dove, and she has a soft voice and a thoughtful look.Her anger is never violent; her love is never blazing, but deep and tender.But it must be admitted that she also has shortcomings to set off her advantages.Rashness of temper is one; and the obstinate will that spoiled children must have, whether they are good or bad.If a servant happened to piss her off, she'd always say, "I'll tell Papa!" Believe that no one will speak harshly to her.It was a pleasure for him to educate her entirely by himself.Fortunately, her curiosity and intelligence made her a good student, and she learned quickly and eagerly, which added luster to his teaching.

She grew up to thirteen years old, and she never left the manor alone once.Mr. Linton would occasionally take her out for a mile or so; but he would give her up to no one else.Gimmerton was an illusory name in her ears; the chapel was the only building she ever approached or entered, except her own home.Wuthering Heights and Mr. Heathcliff did not exist to her; she was a true hermit; and she was evidently quite content.Looking out of the country sometimes from her nursery window, indeed, she noticed: "Alan, how long will it take me to get to the top of those mountains? I don't know what's over there—is it the sea?"

"No, Miss Catty," I replied, "it's still mountains, just like these." "What do those golden stones look like when you stand under them," she asked once. The steep slopes of Peniston Rock especially attracted her attention; especially when the setting sun fell on the rock and the highest peak, while the rest of the whole landscape was hidden in shadow.I explained that those were just a large pile of rocks, and there was not enough soil in the cracks between the rocks to support a small tree. "Why are those stones still bright after dusk here?" she asked.

"Because they are much higher up there than we are here," I replied, "you can't climb up there, it's too high and too steep. In winter it always frosts before us here; in midsummer the black hole in the northeast I also found snow in it!" "Oh, you've been there!" she exclaimed with joy. "Then I can go when I'm an adult. Ellen, has Daddy been there?" "Papa will tell you, ma'am," I answered hastily, "that the place is not worth running to. The fields you walk with him are much nicer than that, and Thrushcross Park is the best place in the world." .”

"I know Thrushcross Gardens, but I don't know those places," she said to herself, "if I look around from the edge of the highest peak, I will be very happy--my little one Marminnie will take me there one day." One of the maids mentioned the Fairy Cave, which had greatly moved her heart, and she wished to carry it out, and she pressed Mr. Linton to promise it, and he promised to visit her when she was a little older.And Miss Catherine calculated her age in months. "Am I old enough to go to Peniston Rock now?" was a constant question on her lips.The road there was winding and winding, close to Wuthering Heights.Edgar didn't want to go through there, so the answer she used to get was, "Not yet, honey, not yet."

I said that Mrs. Heathcliff lived about twelve years after leaving her husband.Her family were weak constitutions: both she and Edgar lacked the healthy color you often see in these parts.What ailment she ended up with I don't know, but I guess they died of the same disease, a kind of fever that was slow in onset, but incurable, and quickly worn out at the end. life.She wrote to tell her brother what might come of her four months' illness, and begged him to come to her if possible; for she had much to do, and she wished to say goodbye to him, Put Linton safely into his hands.Her hope was to deliver Linton to him, as he had been with her; and she herself preferred to believe that the child's father had no desire at all to bear the burden of his upbringing and education.My master granted her request without hesitation.He was reluctant to leave home on ordinary matters, but this time he went hastily; he entrusted Catherine to me to take special care, and repeatedly instructed that he could not be at home even if I was with him. Let her wander out of the garden: it never occurred to him that she should go out unaccompanied.

He was gone for three weeks.The little one I was responsible for the first day or two sat in a corner of the study, too sad to read or play, and she didn't give me any trouble in that quiet situation.But then came a fidgety boredom; and I was too busy and too old to run up and down to amuse her, so I figured out a way to keep her entertained.I always ask her to go for a walk—sometimes on foot, sometimes on a pony.When she came back, I was a patient listener, and narrated all her adventures, real and imagined, according to her temperament. It was the height of summer; she was so fond of wandering by herself that she often tried to linger outside between breakfast and tea; and in the evenings she told her fantastic stories.I wasn't afraid of her going out of bounds, because the gate was always locked, and I thought she wouldn't dare to go alone if the gate was wide open.Unfortunately, I misplaced my trust.Catherine called me one morning at eight o'clock, and said that she, as an Arabian merchant, was leading her caravan across the desert; A horse and three camels, the three camels are represented by a large hound and a pair of small hounds.I got a lot of good food, and threw it in a basket that hung over the saddle; and she danced like a fairy, with her wide-brimmed hat and veil shaded from the July sun, she Laughing at my advice to be careful: don't ride too fast and come back earlier, I laughed happily and rode away.The naughty creature hadn't shown itself until tea time.But one of the travellers, the great hound, the old comfort dog, came back; but neither Catherine, nor the pony, nor the two little hounds, I hastened to send I searched this way, that way, and finally I found her by myself.On the edge of the estate a workman was building a fence around a woodland.I asked him if he saw our lady?

"I saw her in the morning," he answered, "and she asked me to cut a hazel branch for her, and then she rode her pony over the hedge over there, and disappeared." You can guess how I felt when I heard the news.It occurred to me at once that she must be on her way to Peniston Rock. "What's going to happen to her?" I cried suddenly, rushing through a breach the man was mending, and down to the road.I walked as if I were betting, mile after mile, and turning a corner, I saw the house; but neither far nor near could I see Catherine.The Rock was a mile and a half from Heathcliff's house, and four miles from the Grange, so that I began to fear that night would fall before I got there.

"What if she slipped while climbing the rock over there," I thought, "what if she fell to her death, or broke a bone?" My suspense was painful; I began to feel relieved when I saw that Charlie, the fiercest hound, was lying under the window with his head swollen and his ears bleeding.I ran to the door of the house and knocked desperately to get in.A woman I knew who used to live at Gimmerton came to answer the door: she had been the maid there since Earnshaw's death. "Ah," said she, "you have come for your lady! Don't be afraid. She is safe here; and I am glad it was not the master who came back."

"Then he's not home, is he?" I gasped, out of breath from walking so fast and being so alarmed. "Not at home, not at home," she answered. "He and Joseph are out. I don't think he'll be back for more than an hour. Come in and rest." I went in and saw my lost lamb sitting by the fire, rocking in one of her mother's childhood chairs.Her hat hung on the wall, and she looked perfectly at ease, laughing and talking to Hareton as she wished.Hareton--now a strong boy of eighteen--he stared at her with great curiosity and amazement; is negligible. "Okay, miss!" I cried, putting on an angry face to hide my excitement. "This is the last time you'll ride until papa comes back. I can't trust you any longer and let you step out the door, you naughty, naughty girl!"

"Aha, Ellen!" she exclaimed joyfully, jumping up and running to me. "I've got a nice story to tell you tonight--you've found me at last. Have you ever been here in your life?" "Put on your hat and go home right away," I said. "I'm very, very sorry for you, Miss Kitty: you've made a great mistake. It's no use pouting and crying, and that won't make up for what I've gone through all over the country looking for you. To think how Mr. Linton told me to keep you at home, and you slip away like this! It shows you a cunning little fox, and no one will trust you any more!" "What have I done?" she sobbed, and then suppressed it. "Papa didn't tell me anything—he wouldn't scold me, Ellen—he never lost his temper like you!" "Come on, come on!" I said again. "I'll fasten the bonnet. Now, let's all be quiet. Oh, what a shame, you're thirteen, and you're still like a little kid!" This was uttered because she had pushed her hat back over the chimney, out of my reach. "Don't," said the maid, "Mrs. Dean, don't be so cruel to the pretty little girl. We told her to stop. She wants to ride on, and she's afraid you won't feel safe. But Hareton proposes to accompany her." Go, I think he should. The road up the hill is very deserted." During this conversation Hareton just stood there with his hands in his pockets, too embarrassed to speak; but he looked as if he did not wish me to intrude. "How long do I have to wait?" I continued, ignoring the woman's interference. "It'll be dark in ten minutes. Where's the pony, Miss Catty, where's Phoenix? If you don't hurry up, I'll leave you. Do as you like." "The pony's in the yard," she answered, "Phoenix's locked up there. He's bitten—and so is Charlie. I was going to tell you what happened; but you don't deserve to hear your temper." I took her hat, and went up to put it on her again; but she saw that the whole house was on her side, and she began to run about the house; She hopped over the furniture like a mouse, and ran up and down, making it ridiculous for me to chase her like this.Both Hareton and the woman laughed, and she laughed with them, becoming more impertinent; till I cried out in great exasperation: "Well, Miss Catty, if you knew whose house it was you'd be eager to get out." "That's your father's, isn't it?" she said, turning to Hareton. "No," he answered, his eyes flushed with shame, his eyes on the ground. He couldn't stand the way she stared at him, even though they were like his. "Whose, then—your master's?" she asked. His face was even redder, and his mood was completely different. He cursed in a low voice, and then turned away. "Who is his master?" the annoying girl asked me again. "He said, 'our house' and 'our family'. I thought he was the son of the owner. And he never called me Miss. ; he ought to, if he were a servant, shouldn't he?" Hareton's face was as black as a cloud at this childish remark.I gently shook my heckler, finally getting her ready to go. "Now, bring my horse," she said to her unknown relation, as she would have addressed a groom at the Grange. "You can go with me. I want to see the 'monster hunter' appearing in the swamp, and hear what you said about the 'little fairy'. But hurry up, what's the matter? I said, take my Bring the horse." "Before I become your servant, I want to see you go to hell!" the boy roared. "What do you want to see from me?" Catherine asked inexplicably. "To hell—you impertinent goblin!" he replied. "Well, Miss Catherine! You see you've found a good company," I put in. "Such kind words for a lady! Please don't argue with him. Come, let us find Minnie ourselves, and go." "But, Ellen," she cried, staring in astonishment, "how dare he talk to me like that! Doesn't he do what I tell him to do? You wretch, I'll take everything you say Tell Papa—Okay!" Hareton seemed not to feel much of the threat; and tears welled up in her eyes with rage. "Bring the horse." She turned and yelled at the maid again. "Get out my dog ​​at once!" "Be kind, madam," replied the maid, "you can do no harm by being polite. Though that Mr. Hareton is not the master's son, he is your cousin: and I am not hired to serve you. " "He, my cousin!" cried Catherine, with a mocking laugh. "Yes, indeed," replied her reprimand. "Oh, Ellen! Don't let them say such things," she went on, in great distress. "Father has gone to London to fetch my cousin, who is a gentleman's son. That mine—" She stopped, and wept aloud; for frustration. "Hold your breath, hold your breath!" I whispered. "One can have many cousins, all kinds of cousins, Miss Catherine, and it's not all bad; if they're unsuitable or bad, don't be with them." Let's be together." "He's not--he's not my cousin, Ellen!" she went on, thinking, with fresh sorrow, and throwing herself into my arms to escape the thought. I was much troubled to hear her and the maid give each other news; I have no doubt that the news of Linton's approach from the former must have been reported to Mr. Heathcliff; The last thought was to ask him to explain what the maid had said about her relationship with that rough relative.Hareton, recovering from his disgusted feeling of being mistaken for a servant, seemed to have been moved by her sorrow; he led the pony to and from the door, and, in reconciliation with her, he put a good bent The spaniel was taken out of the den and put in her hand to keep her quiet, for he was harmless.She stopped crying, looked at him with a kind of fear, and then began to cry again. I could hardly refrain from laughing at her incompatibilities with the poor child; a well-proportioned, robust youth, and a good-looking figure, tall and healthy, but clad for working in the fields. Common clothes like living and chasing rabbits and hunting in the wilderness.Yet I think it is still possible to see in his countenance that he had a heart of much better quality than his father's.Good things are buried in a patch of weeds, which, of course, overrun their neglected growth when they overrun; Rich harvest.I believe that Mr. Heathcliff never abused him physically; thanks to his fearless nature, which would not induce anyone to oppress him; He has none of the cowardly sensibility that arouses sadism.Heathcliff used his malice to make him a brut, who was never taught to read or write; was never rebuked for any bad habit that did not harass his master; He took a step toward virtue, or never had a single instruction to rebuke vice.As far as I have heard, it was Joseph who had much to do with his turning bad, out of a narrow partiality, Joseph had pampered and coddled him since he was a boy, because he was the master of the old family.He had always been used to scolding Catherine, Earnshaw, and Heathcliff when they were young, which made the old master lose his patience, and forced the old master to drink away his sorrow by what he called their "terrible behavior". He again places the full responsibility for Hareton's error on the shoulders of his usurpers.If the boy swears, he doesn't correct him: whatever he does that is reproachable, he doesn't care.Evidently Joseph found satisfaction in seeing him at his worst: he admitted that the boy was wrecked; his soul was doomed;Hareton's vengeance must be avenged; and it was a great comfort to think of it.Joseph had instilled in him a pride of family name; if he had dared he would have cultivated an enmity between himself and the new owner of the estate; but his fear of the new owner bordered on superstitious; he I had no choice but to express my feelings for the new owner only in whispered sarcasm and secretly cursing.I cannot pretend to be familiar with the way of life at Wuthering Heights in those days: I only heard: because I saw very little.The village asserts that Heathcliff is "stingy," and, to his tenants, a cruel landowner; but the house is restored to its former comfort by female arrangements.The riots which had been common in Hindley's day were no longer enacted in the house.The master had been too gloomy to associate with anyone; good or bad; he still was. See where I'm going.Miss Kitty didn't want the Hound, but as a peace gift she wanted her own dogs, Charlie and Phoenix.They came limping and bowing their heads; and we set off home, all dejected.How she spent the day, I cannot gather from my lady's inquiries; I suppose that the object of her journey was Peniston Rock; just one dog, they attacked her ranks, and must have fought a good fight before their masters could part them, and thus they were introduced and made acquaintances.Catherine tells Hareton who she is, and where she is going; and begs him to show her which way to go: finally tempting him to go with her.He uncovered the secret of the Fairy Cave and twenty other grotesque places.But I was too out of favor to hear her describe the interesting things she had seen.At any rate, I could surmise that her guide had won her favor, till she hurt his feelings by calling him a servant; and Heathcliff's steward said he was her cousin, Also hurt her feelings.Then the language he used to her hurt her heart again; at the Grange, everyone always called her "Love", "Baby", "Queen", "Angel", and now she was killed by a stranger Such a horrific insult!She couldn't understand this; I had a hard time getting her to promise not to tell her father.I explained how he hated the whole family over at the Heights!How it would hurt him to know she'd been there; but one thing I've said over and over again, is that if she says I've neglected his orders, he'll probably be so angry he'll have to let me go; Katie Can't stand the idea that she's keeping her word and keeping it a secret for my sake.After all, she is a sweet little girl.