Грозовой перевал / Wuthering Heights

I stayed by the fire all afternoon, too exhausted to work, going over my strange adventures at Wuthering Heights[15]. Every time I closed my eyes I saw the faces of the people I had met… mysterious, brooding Heathcliff, young, sulky Catherine and clumsy, silent Hareton. Why did they hate each other so much, and why were they all living up at the Heights together? But most of all I wondered about the wild, dark-haired girl at the window. Was she a ghost or a fiend? And what was she doing wandering over the moors?

Eventually, I decided to give up all thoughts of studying for the day, and when Nelly arrived with my supper, I asked her to sit with me for a while, hoping she would tell me more about the Heights.

«I understand you’ve lived at the Grange for a long time,» I began. «Did you say it was eighteen years?

«Yes, sir – I came to look after my mistress when she married.»

«And who was your mistress, Nelly?» I asked.

«Her name was Catherine Earnshaw.»

(«Catherine Earnshaw!» I thought to myself. «Could this be the ghostly girl I’d seen at the window?»)

«And what happened to Catherine Earnshaw?» «She died, sir, soon after her marriage to Mr. Linton, but she had a daughter and I stayed on to look after her until she married and went to live at the Heights.»

«So is that the young lady I saw last night?»

«Yes, sir, she’s my young Miss Catherine, who I cared for all her life. But tell me, how is the poor girl now?»

«Mrs. Heathcliff? Well, I thought she looked healthy enough, and very beautiful, but she didn’t seem happy.»

Nelly sighed, «And what do you think of Heathcliff, Mr. Lockwood?»

«A rather rough fellow, I thought. Don’t you agree?

«Oh, he’s as rough as a saw-edge and as hard as the rocks on the moor[16]! But he’s rich too.»

«Whatever can have happened to make him like he is?»

«Well that’s a long story, sir. His life is like a cuckoo’s… I know all about it, except where he was born and who his parents were, and how he grew so rich that he pushed all the other birds out of the nest.»

I was sure I wouldn’t sleep that night until I knew more. My head felt hot, but the rest of my body was icy cold, and I felt strangely excited by everything that had happened up at the Heights. I asked Nelly to stay with me and tell me more, so she settled herself comfortably and started her story…

Before I came to live at the Grange, she began, I lived at Wuthering Heights. My mother was housekeeper to old Mr. Earnshaw and his wife, and I ran errands[17] for the family and hung around the farm, doing any jobs they wanted me to do. We were so much part of the family, that I was even allowed to play with the children – young Master Hindley and Miss Cathy.

One summer morning, we were all playing together when Mr. Earnshaw came downstairs, ready for a journey,

«I’m going to Liverpool today. So what shall I bring you? You can choose anything you like, but it must be small because I’m walking there and back – sixty miles each way – and that’s a long hike!»

Hindley asked for a violin, and Cathy, who was only six years old but could ride any horse in the stable, chose a riding whip. The master didn’t forget me either, and promised to bring me a pocketful of apples. Then he kissed his children goodbye and set off across the moors.

The three days that Mr. Earnshaw was away seemed a terribly long time – and little Cathy asked again and again when her father would be home. We expected him back at tea time, but in the end it was just after eleven when the sitting room door opened and he burst into the room. He threw himself into a chair, laughing and groaning, and told us all to leave him alone because he was half dead.

«And on top of all the walking, I’ve been nearly punched to death!» he said, opening up his overcoat, which he held bundled up in his arms.

«Take a look at this,» he said to his wife, «I’ve never been so beaten by anything in my life!»

We all crowded around, and saw a dirty, ragged, black-haired boy! He was big enough to walk and talk, but he only stared around and muttered some nonsense at us that no one could understand. I was frightened, and Mrs. Earnshaw wanted to fling the creature straight out of doors.

«Are you insane?» she asked her husband angrily. «What made you bring this gypsy brat into our house, when we have children of our own to feed and care for?»

The master tried to explain what had happened, but he was half dead from exhaustion. All I could understand, in between his wife’s scolding and shouting, was that he had found the child starving and homeless in the streets of Liverpool, where he had picked it up and asked around for its owner. No one knew who the boy belonged to, and he was much too kindhearted to leave the child alone to its fate, so he decided to bring it home with him.

Eventually, my mistress grumbled herself calm and Mr. Earnshaw told me I must wash the creature and give it clean clothes to wear. Hindley and Cathy had been silent up until then, but now they both began searching in their father’s pockets for the presents he’d promised them. When Hindley pulled out what was left of his violin, he burst into tears like a baby, even though he was fourteen years old. And when Cathy learned that her whip had been lost, she took her revenge by making faces[18] at the creature, until her father told her to stop. Both the children refused to have the boy in their room, so when I had washed and dressed him I put him out on the landing, hoping he might be gone by the morning. But somehow he managed to creep into the master’s room and the next morning I was punished for my cruelty.

So this was how the cuckoo came to live in the Earnshaws’ nest. Mr. Earnshaw called him Heathcliff – the only name he ever had – and he and Miss Cathy soon became great friends. But Hindley hated him, and when I saw how the master made such a fuss of him I began to hate him too. Hindley and I teased and tormented Heathcliff whenever we could, and Mrs. Earnshaw never spoke up for him, even when she knew that we were in the wrong.

Heathcliff was a silent, patient child, perhaps hardened to bad treatment[19] by everything he’d suffered already in his life. He put up with Hindley’s punches without complaining, and my pinches simply made him draw in his breath in silence. When Mr. Earnshaw discovered what was happening to Heathcliff, he was furious, and he soon became much more fond of him than he was of his own children. So, from the very beginning, Heathcliff caused bad feelings in the family.

By the time Mrs. Earnshaw died, less than two years later, Master Hindley had learned to see his father as an enemy. He believed that Heathcliff had stolen his place in the family, and grew very bitter about the way his life had changed.

A few years after Mrs. Earnshaw died, my master became very ill. He spent most of his time in a chair by the fireplace, growing more and more irritable. He was especially angry with Hindley for treating Heathcliff so badly and in the end he decided to send his son away to college.

Once Hindley was out of the way, I thought at last we would have some peace, but Miss Cathy was much too wild to settle down quietly. She was always getting into mischief – singing and laughing and larking around, and teasing anyone who wouldn’t join in her games. She drove us all to distraction[20], but she had the sweetest smile and so no one could stay angry with her for long.

One thing was certain – young Cathy was much too fond of Heathcliff. She hated being apart from him, and Heathcliff felt just the same about her. She loved giving orders, and Heathcliff would do anything she wanted. It made her father furious, to see how she ruled over the boy.

One evening, when Cathy was quieter than usual, she came and sat on the floor beside her father and leaned her head against his knee. Heathcliff lay with his head in Cathy’s lap, while Mr. Earnshaw stroked her hair.

«Why can’t you always be a good girl, Cathy?» he murmured.

«And why can’t you always be a good man, father?» she laughed. Mr. Earnshaw looked sad to hear this response, and when Cathy saw that she had upset him, she gave her father a kiss and said she would sing him to sleep. She began to sing very quietly, until his head dropped down onto his chest and he fell into a sound sleep. I was glad to see the old man sleeping so well. But when it was time to go to bed, Cathy put her arms around his neck to say goodnight, and screamed out in fright, «Oh, he’s dead, Heathcliff! He’s dead!»

Then they both started crying pitifully, and I joined in too.

Later that evening, I heard Cathy and Heathcliff talking together. They were picturing their father happy in heaven, far away from his troubles on earth. I cried as I listened to them, because I was afraid of what might happen next. And I wished that we could all be saved from the troubles that lay ahead.

Heathcliff 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 delighted.

«Why Cathy, you’re quite a beauty! I would hardly have recognized you – you look like a young lady now. Isabella Linton is nothing compared to her, is she, Frances?»

«Isabella does not have Cathy’s looks,» replied his wife coolly. «But we must make sure she doesn’t grow wild again.»

Cathy kissed me carefully, anxious not to disarrange her hair – and then she looked around the room for Heathcliff. He was hard to find at first, but at last she saw him, skulking behind a chair. I could see he was ashamed to be seen beside such a sparkling young lady – and he certainly did look a sight. His clothes were covered with grime and dust, his hair was tangled, and his face and hands were a dismal shade of grey.

«Come along Heathcliff, there’s no need to hide,» cried Hindley, obviously enjoying the boy’s shame. «You can come and welcome Miss Catherine, just like the other servants.»

Cathy raced towards her old friend and covered him with kisses just like she used to do, but then she stopped and drew back in surprise, laughing out loud, «I’d forgotten how black and cross you look, Heathcliff, and how funny and grim! But that’s because I’m used to Edgar and Isabella, with their pretty golden hair.»

Heathcliff stood silent and still as a stone.

«Well, Heathcliff, have you forgotten me?»

«Why don’t you talk to Miss Cathy?» said Hindley condescendingly «Just occasionally, that is allowed.»

«I shall not!» shouted the boy, racing from the room, «And I won’t stand being laughed at, I just won’t bear it!»

Later that day, I went to find Heathcliff. He was in the stables, giving the horses their evening feed.

«Come into the kitchen with me, Heathcliff, and let me dress you neatly before Miss Cathy comes down. Then you can sit by the fire and have a long chat together.»

But Heathcliff kept his head turned away from me.

«Are you coming, Heathcliff? There’s some supper waiting for you, but I’ll need a good half hour to clean you up first.»

I waited for five minutes, but there was no answer, so I left him to sulk on his own. Cathy ate supper with her brother and sister-in-law, but Heathcliff marched straight up to bed without stopping to eat.

The next day, the Linton children were invited to the Heights for a Christmas party. We had prepared a great feast and there were presents for everyone… except Heathcliff. Mrs. Linton had accepted the Earnshaws’ invitation on condition that her little darlings were kept well away from that ‘naughty, swearing boy’.

Heathcliff got up very early that morning and went out walking on the moors, and when he came back, all the family was away at church. He hung around the kitchen in awkward silence for a while and then he finally spoke.

«Nelly, make me decent. I’m going to be good.»

«And about time too, Heathcliff,» I replied. «You’ve really upset Miss Cathy. I bet she’s sorry she ever came home! She must think you envy her because the Lintons are her friends.»

«Did she say she was upset?» he asked, looking serious.

«She cried when I told her you were off on the moors this morning.»

«Well, I cried last night,» he replied, «and I had more reason to be sad.»

«Perhaps you deserve it, for being so proud and stubborn. But I’ll see what I can do to make you look good. And by the time I’ve finished with you, you’ll be so handsome that Edgar Linton will seem like a doll beside you.»

I made Heathcliff wash his grimy face and combed his great mane of hair. And when he was dressed in his clean clothes, he looked as handsome as a prince.

«Now, if only you’d try smiling, instead of scowling like thunder, you’d be worth ten of young Edgar. Although you’re younger than him, you’re taller and broader, and you don’t go crying for your mama all the time!»

So I chattered on, and Heathcliff gradually lost his frown and began to look quite pleasant. Then, all at once, we heard the rumble of wheels outside. Heathcliff ran to the window, just in time to see the Lintons climbing down from their carriage, smothered in cloaks and furs. Cathy raced out to meet her two young friends and brought them into the house. Then she settled them down by the fire, which quickly put some warmth into their pale, dolllike faces.

I urged Heathcliff to hurry down and show them how he had changed, and he willingly obeyed. But, as luck would have it, he met Hindley in the corridor. The master was far from pleased to see Heathcliff looking so clean and cheerful, and he called out quickly to Joseph, «Keep this fellow out of the room – and lock him in the attic until dinner is over. He’ll be cramming his fingers into the pies[25], and stealing the fruit, if he’s left alone for a minute.»

«No sir,» I couldn’t stop myself from answering, «he won’t touch anything – and I think he should have his share of the treats as well.»

«He’ll have a share of my hand, if I catch him downstairs again,» roared Hindley, reaching out to grab Heathcliff by the hair. «Just wait till I get hold of these elegant locks – let’s see if I can pull them a little bit longer!»

«They’re long enough already,» observed Master Linton, peeping round the door. «I’m surprised he doesn’t have a headache, with that colt’s mane over his eyes!»

I’m sure that Edgar meant no harm, but Heathcliff couldn’t bear such impertinence from someone he already saw as his rival. So he seized a dish of apple sauce – the first thing he could find – and poured it all over Edgar’s head! Edgar instantly burst into tears[26], and Cathy and Isabella came hurrying to help.

In an instant, Hindley had grabbed Heathcliff by the collar and marched him up to his room, where he obviously thrashed him soundly, because he returned quite red in the face. I found a dishcloth and rubbed at Edgar’s nose and mouth quite roughly, telling him it served him right for interfering. Then his sister began to cry and say she wanted to go home, but Cathy just stood there, staring in horror.

«You shouldn’t have upset Heathcliff like that,» she told the snivelling Edgar. «Now Hindley will beat him – and I hate it when he hurts Heathcliff. I can’t eat my dinner now. Why did you speak to him, Edgar?»

«But I didn’t,» sobbed the boy, escaping from my hands. «I promised mama I wouldn’t say a word to him, and I didn’t!»

«Well there’s no need to cry!» replied Cathy scornfully. «You’re not dead. And you stop crying too, Isabella – has anyone hurt you?»

«Now children – time for dinner,» said Hindley, bustling into the room. «Let’s all enjoy the feast!»

Hindley served up large helpings of food, and his wife kept up a stream of cheerful talk[27]. Gradually, the children recovered and everyone began to enjoy their meal… or at least everyone did except Cathy. I watched her lift a mouthful of food to her lips, and quickly put it down again.Then she dropped her fork and dived under the table to hide her tears. And all through the afternoon I saw that she was in agony, longing to get away and find Heathcliff again.

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Примечания

1

Wuthering Heights – «Грозовой Перевал», название поместья (дословно: «Завывающие возвышенности»). Название олицетворяет собой нечто буйное, неукротимое (в отличие от умиротворенной Thrushcross Grange – «Мызы Скворцов», где жизнь протекает спокойно и размеренно)