# ■ 6 Heathcliff disappears

1778—9 Hindley came into the kitchen，swearing terribly，just as I was about to hide little Hareton，in a cupboard．I was always afraid that Hindley would hurt his small son，either by accident or on purpose，when he was drunk，so I tried to keep Hareton out of the way．But this time Hindley discovered my plan．

‘Ah，you keep my son in a cupboard，do you！’he cried angrily，picking up a sharp kitchen knife．‘With the devil's help I'll make you swallow this，Ellen！’And he pushed the knife between my teeth．

I was never afraid he would hurt me，and calmly took the knife out of my mouth．

‘But that can't be my son，can it？’he continued aggressively，staring at the frightened littlebboy．‘If it is，he should be punished for not running to greet his father．Perhaps I'll cut his ears off！’And then suddenly his manner changed．‘No，Hareton，darling，don't cry！Kiss me，kiss your father！What？You won't？Then I'll break your neck！’

Poor Hareton，screaming wildly，was carried upstairs by his father．Suddenly Hindley stopped on the stairs to listen，almost forgetting what he was holding．Heathcliff had come into the house and stood at the bottom of the stairs，looking up．Just then the child jumped out of Hindley's arms and fell．I onlyhhad time to gasp inkhorror，before I saw that Heathcliff had caught him．

Heathcliff stared down at the child he was holding．He must have felt sorry he had saved the life of his enemy's son．I rushed to take the poor little boy in my arms，and Hindley came slowly downstairs．

‘Look what you've done，Mr Hindley！’I cried．‘You nearly killed your own son！What would his mother say if she were alive？’

‘Take him away，Ellen And you，Heathcliff，go away too．I won't murder you tonight，unless perhaps I set the house on fire．But that depends how I feel．’And he poured himself a drink．

‘Don't drink any more，Mr Hindley！’I begged．

‘What difference does it make？’he growled．‘Get out，both of you！To the devil with you！’

We left him swearing at us，and went back into the kitchen．

‘It's a pity he can't kill himself with drink，'muttered Heathcliff．‘Dr Kenneth says he'll live longer than any of us，he's so strong．’

He walked out of the door and，I thought，into the fields In fact I discovered later that he was sitting just under the window，and could hear everything that was said in the kitchen．

I was singing little Hareton to sleep when Catherine came in．

‘Are you alone，Ellen？'she whispered．‘Where's Heath cliff？’

‘He's out on the farm，’I answered．

She looked sad and worried，and I even saw a tear or two on her face．But I had not forgotten how she had lied，and behaved so badly to me as well as to Edgar Linton，so I did not feel sorry for her，or encourage her to talk．

‘Ellen，will you keep a secret for me？'she asked in the end，giving me her sweetest smile．‘I must tell you！I need your advice．Today Edgar Linton has asked me to marry him，and I gave him an answer．Now，before I tell you if it was yes or no，you tell me which I should have said．’

‘Really，Miss Catherine，how can I know？Perhaps you should have refused him．He must be a fool to ask you，after you were so rude and violent this afternoon．’

‘Well，I accepted him，Ellen！'she said crossly．‘But should I have done so？Should I？What do you think？’

‘First，do you love him？’I asked．

‘Of course I do，'she replied．

‘Why do you love him，Miss Catherine？’

‘Well，I do，that's enough．Well，because he's handsome，and a pleasant companion．’

‘Oh，that's bad，’I said，shaking my head．

‘And because he loves me．’

‘That's worse．’

‘Andhbecause he'll be rich，and I shall be the most important woman for miles around．’

‘Worst of all．But there are several other handsome，rich young men in the world．Why don't you marry one of them？’

‘I don't know any of them．I only know Edgar．’

‘Well，I don't know why you're unhappy，Miss Catherine．Your brother will be pleased，and Mr Edgar's parents will，too．You love Edgar，and Edgar loves you．What's the problem？’

‘here！And here！'replied Catherine，beating her head and her chest．‘In my heart and soul I know I'm wrong！Ellen，I can't live apart from Heathcliff！He is more myself than I am．Our souls are the same！I have nothing in common with Edgar．But I can't marry Heathcliff now！Hindley has made him become a poor，dull farm worker．He'll never know how I love him．’

I suddenly heard a movement outside the window，and saw Heathcliff stand up and walk away．I realized he had been listening until he heard Catherine say she could not marry him．Then he stayed to hear no more．

‘Quiet，Miss Q Catherine！’I said．‘Just imagine how hard it will be for Heathcliff when you marry Mr Edgar！He'll have no friends at all when you leave him．’

‘Leave him？Why should we be separated？'she asked angrily．‘Who will separate us？Nobody will dare！Edgar must learn to accept him as my friend．Didn't you ever think，Ellen，that if Heathcliff and I married，we would be very poor？But if I marry Edgar，I can help Heathcliff with my husband's money．’

‘That's the worst reason you've given so far for marrying Mr Edgar，’I replied，shocked.

‘It isn't！Heathcliff is more important to me than myself．My love for Edgar is like the leaves on the trees—I'm sure time will change it．But my love for Heathcliff is like the rocks in the ground—not beautiful，but necessary and unchanging．He's always，always in my heart—’

Just then Joseph entered the kitchen．I whispered to Catherine that I was sure Heathcliff had heard some of what she said．She jumped up，frightened，and rushed outside．But although we all looked everywhere for Heathcliff，there was no sign of him that night，or for many nights in the future．

At about midnight，while we were still waiting for him to come home，we noticed the wind was getting stronger．We could hear it whistling down the chimney，and howling all around the house．Suddenly there was a terrible crash of thunder，and the branch of a tree fell on to the roof．We were not hurt，but Joseph immediately dropped on to his knees to pray．The rain was beating down on the windows，but Catherine stayed outside，although by now her hair and clothes were completely wet．

In the end we all went to bed．I managed to persuade Catherine to come in，but she insisted on sleeping in the kitchen，in case Heathcliff returned during the night．In the morning we discovered that she had caught a fever，as a result of getting wet．She became seriously ill，and it was several weekshbefore Dr Kenneth would allow her out of bed．

When she recovered，she was invited to stay for a while at Thrushcross Grange．Unfortunately old Mr and Mrs Linton caught the fever too，and died within a few days of each other Catherine returned to us，prouder and quicker-tempered than ever，but not as strong as before．

‘If she gets ill again，it could be fatal，’Dr Kenneth warned us．‘My advice to you is to do whatever she wants，and don't make her angry！’So we had to obey all her orders，and Joseph and I were not allowed to scold her any more．

Edgar Linton was still in love with her，and thought himself the happiest man on earth when he married her three years after his parents’death She insisted on having me with her，so we moved together to Thrushcross Grange，although I was very sad to leave little Hareton with his father．

It's very late，Mr Lockwood．I think you should go to bed，or you'll be ill tomorrow．I can tell you the rest of the story another time．

Four weeks later In fact I was ill the next day，and have been ill since then．The terrible night I spent at Wuthering Height was the cause of my illness，and I blame Mr Heathcliff for it．Dr Kenneth has warned me I won't be able to go out until the spring．All I can do is lie in bed，listening to the howling wind and staring at the grey northern sky．

So I've decided to ask Mrs Dean to come upstairs and finish telling me her story．She tells me she's happy to continue．

■ 6 希斯克利夫失蹤了

1778—1779年

我正想把小哈里頓藏進飯櫥裡，亨德雷就罵罵咧咧地進到廚房。我一直怕亨德雷會在喝醉了酒後有意無意地傷害他的小兒子，所以我想法兒讓哈里頓別礙事。但這次亨德雷看出了我的心思。

“啊，你把我兒子放在飯櫥裡，是嗎！”他火氣沖沖地嚷道，拿起一把鋒利的菜刀。“看在魔鬼的份兒上，我要讓你把它吞下去，艾倫！”說著把刀塞進我的牙縫。

我從沒怕過他會傷害我，很鎮靜地把刀從我口裡拿出來。

“但這不可能是我兒子，對嗎？”他又挑釁似地接著說道，瞪著被嚇壞了的小男孩。“如果這是，他應該受到懲罰，因為他沒跑出來問他父親好。或許我會割掉他的耳朵！”然後他的態度突然變了，“不，哈里頓，親愛的，別哭！親親我，親親你父親！怎麼？你不？那我就擰斷你的脖子！”

可憐的哈里頓狂呼亂叫著被他父親抱向樓上。亨德雷突然在樓梯上停下聽著什麼，幾乎忘了他抱的是什麼。希斯克利夫來到屋裡，站在樓梯下面往上看。就在這時那孩子跳出亨德雷的手臂，掉落下來。就在我嚇得倒吸冷氣的時候，只見希斯克利夫一把接住了他。

希斯克利夫緊盯著他手中抱著的孩子。他一定後悔救了他仇人兒子的命。我趕上去把那可憐的小男孩接到我懷裡，亨德雷慢條斯理地朝樓下走來。

“看您做了些什麼，亨德雷先生！”我叫道。“您差點弄死自己的兒子！如果他媽還活著會怎麼說？”

“把他帶走，艾倫。還有你，希斯克利夫，也走開。我今晚不會殺你，除非可能我把這房子燒了。但那得看我心情如何。”他給自己倒了杯酒。

“別再喝啦，亨德雷先生！”我乞求道。

“那又怎麼樣？”他咆哮道。“滾，你們兩個都滾！你們見鬼去吧！”

我們沒理會他對我們的咒罵，回到廚房。

“可惜沒喝死他，”希斯克利夫低聲說。“肯尼士大夫說他會比我們命長，他那麼壯。”

他走出門，我想是到田裡去了。其實到後來我得知他當時坐在窗戶下面，廚房裡說什麼他都能聽見。

我哼著曲兒催小哈里頓入睡時凱瑟琳進來了。

“你一個人嗎，艾倫？”她小聲說。“希斯克利夫哪兒去啦？”

“他去農莊了，”我回答。

她模樣憂鬱，心事重重，我甚至看到她臉上有一兩滴淚珠。但我沒忘她是如何說瞎話的，還有對我和艾加·林頓那樣粗暴，所以我不同情她，也不想聽她說什麼。

“艾倫，你肯為我保密嗎？”她最後問道，露出了她最甜美的微笑。“我必須告訴你！我需要你的意見。今天艾加·林頓向我求婚了，我給了他個答覆。現在我先不說是‘是’還是‘不是’，你告訴我應該怎麼說。”

“說真的，凱瑟琳，我怎麼知道？也許你應該回絕他。今天下午你對他那麼粗暴無禮他還向你求婚，一定是個傻瓜。”

“哼，我接受了他，艾倫！”她慍怒地說道。“可我該這麼做麼？我應該麼？你怎麼想？”

“首先是，你愛他嗎？”我問。

“我當然愛他，”她回答。

“你愛他什麼，凱瑟琳小姐？”

“這，我愛他，這就夠了。嗯，因為他英俊，跟他在一起很快活。”

“哦，不妙，”我搖搖頭說。

“還因為他愛我。”

“更糟糕。”

“還因為他會很富有，我會成為方圓數英里最尊貴的女人。”

“糟得不能再糟了。那這世上還有其他一些英俊富有的年輕人。你怎麼不挑一個嫁？”

“我不認識他們，我只認識艾加。”

“那，我就不知道你為何悶悶不樂了，凱瑟琳小姐。你哥哥會高興的，艾加先生的父母也會高興的。你愛艾加，艾加也愛你。有什麼問題？”

“這兒！還有這兒！”凱瑟琳答道，邊說邊敲著自己的頭和心口。“在我心靈深處我知道我錯了！艾倫，我生命裡不能沒有希斯克利夫！他比我還是我自己！我們心心相印！而我與艾加毫無共同之處。但我現在不能嫁給希斯克利夫！亨德雷把他變成了一個窮困、枯燥乏味的幹農活的。他永遠不會知道我有多愛他。”

我突然聽見窗外有動靜，然後看見希斯克利夫站起來走開了。我意識到他一直在聽，直到凱瑟琳說她不會嫁給他。之後他就沒留下來聽了。

“靜一靜，凱瑟琳小姐！”我說。“只要想一想你嫁給艾加時對希斯克利夫有多殘酷啊！你離開他，他就一個朋友也沒有了。”

“離開他？我們為什麼要分開？”她怒問道。“誰會拆散我們？沒人敢！艾加要學著把他作為我的朋友來接受他。你難道沒想過，艾倫，如果希斯克利夫和我結婚，我們就會一貧如洗嗎？可如果我嫁了艾加，我可以用我丈夫的錢幫助希斯克利夫。”

“到目前為止，這是你說的要嫁給艾加先生的最糟糕的一個理由，”我答道，感到很吃驚。

“不是！對我來說，希斯克利夫比我還重要。我對艾加的愛就像樹葉——肯定會隨著時間而變化。但我對希斯克利夫的愛如地上的磐石——雖不華麗，卻必不可少，一成不變。他永遠、永遠在我心裡——”

就在這時約瑟夫進了廚房。我輕聲告訴凱瑟琳我肯定希斯克利夫聽到了她說的一些話。她神色驚恐地跳將起來，衝了出去。那天晚上，雖然我們哪兒都找遍了，也沒見到希斯克利夫的影子，此後很多天他都沒露面。

那天午夜，我們還坐著等他回家，注意到風越刮越大。我們能聽見風呼嘯著從煙囪裡灌下來，房子周圍一片怒號聲。突然一聲駭人的霹雷，一根樹枝落到房頂上。我們沒傷著，可約瑟夫當時就撲通跪在地上開始祈禱。雨敲打著窗戶，但凱瑟琳呆在外面，儘管她的頭髮和衣裳此時都已經溼透了。

最後我們都上床睡覺去了。我把凱瑟琳勸進屋來，可她堅持要睡在廚房，怕希斯克利夫夜裡回來。第二天早晨我們發現她發燒了，因為淋溼的緣故。她病得很厲害，過了好幾個禮拜肯尼士大夫才允許她下床。

她病好後，被請去畫眉山莊去住一段。不幸的是年邁的林頓夫婦也患了熱病，幾天之內相繼去世。凱瑟琳回到我們這兒，比以前更驕橫，脾氣也更暴躁了，但身體不如以前健壯了。

“要是她再得病，可能會致命，”肯尼士大夫告誡我們，“我勸你們順著她，別讓她生氣！”因此我們得對她言聽計從，不許約瑟夫和我再責備她。

艾加·林頓依然愛著凱瑟琳，他在父母過世三年後娶了她，自以為是世上最幸福的人。她執意要我陪她，所以我們一起搬到畫眉山莊，儘管把小哈里頓留給他父親讓我很難過。

天很晚了，洛克伍德先生。我覺得您該睡覺了，否則明天會生病的。我再找時間給您講剩下的事。

四周後事實上第二天我是病了，一直臥床不起。病因就是我在呼嘯山莊度過的那可怕的一夜，這我歸咎於希斯克利夫先生。肯尼士大夫告誡我春天之前不能出門。我只好躺在床上，聽著風的怒號，盯著北方灰暗的天際。

於是我決定請迪恩夫人上樓來給我講完她的故事。她說她樂意講下去。