CHAPTER THREE

A Message from Heathcliff

Summer ended, and autumn came. Edgar became sick and stayed in his room all winter. Poor Cathy was left alone.

One wet, cold afternoon in November, Cathy asked Ellen to walk with her outside. Ellen did not want to go, but she thought she should watch Cathy.

Cathy walked sadly and silently along. It was clear to Ellen that she was worried about her father, who was very sick.

Soon Ellen and Cathy came to a wall with a little door in it. Cathy seemed a little happier, and climbed up the wall and sat on top. Then she jumped down on the other side to pick some pretty flowers. However, Cathy found that she could not climb back up the wall, because it was too smooth.

"Ellen," she cried, "you'll have to go and get the key. I can't climb on the wall!"

"All right," Ellen answered, "but stay where you are."

She was about to walk back to the house when she heard a horse coming down the road. Soon the horse stopped where Cathy was standing.

"Hello, Miss Linton!" cried a deep voice that Ellen knew. "What a surprise to see you!"

"Mr Heathcliff, I am sorry. I can't speak to you," Cathy said firmly. "My father says you are a bad man."

"Well, it's not true," Heathcliff said. "I want to talk to you about my son. Two or three months ago you wrote him many letters. Did you grow tired of writing, and stop? Well, Linton is miserable now. He was really in love with you, and now he's sick because he wants to see you so much. He'll die before this summer, unless you help him!"

Ellen could keep quiet no longer. She ran back to the wall and shouted, "Heathcliff, don't tell the girl these lies! Miss Cathy, don't believe anything he says."

"Oh, so there you are, Ellen! I was wondering when you would speak up!" said Heathcliff. "Well, just go to Wuthering Heights and see if I'm telling the truth! Catherine, I shall be away from home all this week. Go and see Linton—just for a little while. You'll save him."

While he was speaking, Ellen was able to break the lock on the door in the wall with a stone. When the door was open, she ran out to the other side of the wall, where Cathy and Heathcliff stood.

"Listen. I promise you that Linton is dying," Heathcliff said, giving Ellen a hard look. "Cathy, he dreams of you day and night and thinks that you are angry at him, since you never write or visit."

"Come inside, Miss Cathy. It's time to go home!" said Ellen firmly. She almost dragged her through the door in the wall.

When they were home, Cathy went to her father's room to see him, but he had fallen asleep. When she came downstairs, she asked Ellen to sit with her in the library. For a while the two sat there quietly. Ellen was sewing and Cathy was reading a book by the fire.

After a little while Ellen saw that Cathy was crying. Ellen let her cry for a time, and then said gently, "Dear, don't worry about Linton. I don't believe Heathcliff was telling you the truth. I'm sure Linton is all right."

"You might be right, Ellen," she said brokenly, "but I will never rest until I know!"

Finally she convinced Ellen to go with her to Wuthering Heights. Cathy rode her little grey horse and Ellen walked beside her. When they arrived at Wuthering Heights, Ellen went into the kitchen to make sure that Heathcliff was really gone. No one was there, but she heard a voice call out from another room, "Joseph, make a fire!" It was Linton.

Cathy heard her cousin's voice and ran to him. "Father told me you would come. Oh, Cathy!" Ellen made a fire while the two cousins talked.

"Well, Linton," Cathy said, "are you glad to see me?"

"Yes, I am! But you should have come to see me before. Don't you like me anymore, Cathy?"

"Yes—next to Father and Ellen I love you best!" Cathy said. "I don't like your father Mr Heathcliff, though—and I don't want to come here when he's at home. Will he be gone for long?"

"No," Linton answered, "but he often leaves the house in winter. You could visit me when he's not here."

"If my father would let me, I'd spend a lot of time with you," said Cathy. "I wish you lived at my house!"

"Cathy, will you come tomorrow?" Linton asked.

"No, she won't!" said Ellen firmly. "And she won't come the next day either. Her father will not allow it!"

But Cathy whispered something in Linton's ear—something that made his pale face look happier.

Cathy and Ellen were home in time for dinner. Ellen had gotten very wet and cold in the terrible weather, and for the next three weeks she was sick with a cold and had to stay in bed. Cathy was very worried about Ellen, and was a very good nurse. She was always with her father and Ellen while they were sick.

At the end of three weeks Ellen was able to leave her room. That night, she asked Cathy to read to her, because her eyes felt weak. Cathy immediately picked up a book, but she sounded as if she did not want to read. "I'm so tired, Ellen!" she kept saying.

"Stop reading, then, and talk to me instead," answered Ellen.

That seemed to make things worse. Cathy kept looking at the clock on the wall while she was talking. Finally it was eight o'clock, and Cathy went up to her room quickly.

The next night she told Ellen that she had a headache, and went up to her room immediately after tea.

Ellen knew Cathy was acting strangely. After a while, she went up to the girl's room to see if she was better.

Cathy was not in her bedroom, and she was not anywhere else in the house. Ellen did not know what to do, and she did not want to upset Edgar by telling him. So she sat down in Cathy's room to wait.

The moon was shining brightly, and the snow covered the ground. Finally Ellen saw Cathy leading her horse into the stable and walking into the house.

When Cathy entered her room she took off her coat and boots. Suddenly Ellen stood up and spoke. "My dear Miss Cathy, may I ask where you have been so late at night!"

Cathy jumped up, surprised. "Ellen! What—what are you doing here? I've only been riding around the property!" Cathy said slowly.

"And you haven't been anywhere else?" asked Ellen.

"No," said Cathy, but she did not look at Ellen.

"Catherine Linton," said Ellen, "I want you to tell me the truth."

At this, Cathy began to cry. "I've been to Wuthering Heights," she said, "and I've been there every day that you've been sick! Ellen, I just had to see Linton. Mr Heathcliff doesn't bother me. I haven't even seen him at all. I can't be stopped from going to the Heights, Ellen. You won't tell my father, will you? Please don't tell him!"

"I'll think about that in the morning," Ellen replied. "I'll leave you now."

Ellen did think about the matter, with Edgar. She decided that she had to tell him the whole story.

Edgar was very upset. In the morning he told Cathy that her visits to Linton must stop. Edgar told Cathy that he would write to Linton and tell him that he could come to the Grange whenever he wanted—but that he would no longer see Cathy at Wuthering Heights.

(end of section)