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‘While they examined me, Cathy came round; she heard the last speech, and laughed. Edgar Linton, after an inquisitive stare, collected sufficient wit to recognise her. They see us at church, you know, though we seldom meet them elsewhere. “That’s Miss Earnshaw?” he whispered to his mother, “and look how Skulker has bitten her—how her foot bleeds!”
‘“Miss Earnshaw? Nonsense!” cried the dame; “Miss Earnshaw scouring the country with a gipsy! And yet, my dear, the child is in mourning—surely it is—and she may be lamed for life!”
‘“What culpable carelessness in her brother!” exclaimed Mr. Linton, turning from me to Catherine. “I’ve understood from Shielders”’ (that was the curate, sir) ‘“that he lets her grow up in absolute heathenism. But who is this? Where did she pick up this companion? Oho! I declare he is that strange acquisition my late neighbour made, in his journey to Liverpool—a little Lascar, or an American or Spanish castaway.”
‘“A wicked boy, at all events,” remarked the old lady, “and quite unfit for a decent house! Did you notice his language, Linton? I’m shocked that my children should have heard it.”
‘I recommenced cursing—don’t be angry, Nelly—and so Robert was ordered to take me off. I refused to go without Cathy; he dragged me into the garden, pushed the lantern into my hand, assured me that Mr. Earnshaw should be informed of my behaviour, and, bidding me march directly, secured the door again. The curtains were still looped up at one corner, and I resumed my station as spy; because, if Catherine had wished to return, I intended shattering their great glass panes to a million of fragments, unless they let her out. She sat on the sofa quietly. Mrs. Linton took off the grey cloak of the dairy-maid which we had borrowed for our excursion, shaking her head and expostulating with her, I suppose: she was a young lady, and they made a distinction between her treatment and mine. Then the woman-servant brought a basin of warm water, and washed her feet; and Mr. Linton mixed a tumbler of negus, and Isabella emptied a plateful of cakes into her lap, and Edgar stood gaping at a distance. Afterwards, they dried and combed her beautiful hair, and gave her a pair of enormous slippers, and wheeled her to the fire; and I left her, as merry as she could be, dividing her food between the little dog and Skulker, whose nose she pinched as he ate; and kindling a spark of spirit in the vacant blue eyes of the Lintons—a dim reflection from her own enchanting face. I saw they were full of stupid admiration; she is so immeasurably superior to them—to everybody on earth, is she not, Nelly?’
‘There will more come of this business than you reckon on,’ I answered, covering him up and extinguishing the light. ‘You are incurable, Heathcliff; and Mr. Hindley will have to proceed to extremities, see if he won’t.’
My words came truer than I desired. The luckless adventure made Earnshaw furious. And then Mr. Linton, to mend matters, paid us a visit himself on the morrow, and read the young master such a lecture on the road he guided his family, that he was stirred to look about him, in earnest. Heathcliff received no flogging, but he was told that the first word he spoke to Miss Catherine should ensure a dismissal; and Mrs. Earnshaw undertook to keep her sister-in-law in due restraint when she returned home; employing art, not force: with force she would have found it impossible.
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“他們審查我時，闞思走過來了。她聽到最後這句話，就笑了起來。愛德嘉•林騰好奇地直盯著她看，他總算恢複理智，認出她來了。你知道的，他們在教堂做禮拜時見過我們，盡管我們很少在別的地方碰見過他們。‘那是俄韶小姐！’他低聲對他母親說，‘瞧瞧狐兒把她咬得，她的腳正流著血呢！’
“‘俄韶小姐？別胡說！’那位夫人嚷著，‘俄韶小姐跟個吉普賽人在田野裏瞎逛！可是，寶貝，這孩子還戴著孝呢——肯定是她了——她可能這輩子都要跛著腳走路了！’
“‘她哥哥夠粗心的，真該罰！’林騰老爺歎口氣道，從我這兒又轉過身去看闞思睿。‘我從申修德（先生，那就是副牧師）那兒得知，她哥哥就讓她在絕對無神論的環境中長大。可這位是誰呢？她是從哪兒撿來的這麽個伴？哦嗬！我斷定這就是那個奇怪的所獲之物，是我那已亡故的鄰人在去利物浦旅行期間帶回來的——一個東印度小水手，或是一個被拋棄的美國小子或西班牙小子。’
“‘無論怎樣，他是個壞孩子，’那個老夫人說，‘而且對於一個體麵人家這實在是不合適！你聽到他剛才說的話沒有，林騰！要是我的孩子們聽到這些話，我真要嚇破膽子了。’
“我又開始咒罵了——別生氣，耐莉——這樣羅伯特就奉命把我帶走。闞思不走我也不肯走。羅伯特把我拖到花園裏，把馬燈硬塞到我手上，並告訴我說，一定要把我的所作所為通知俄韶少爺，而且要我直接上路，接著就又把門關緊了。窗簾還是拉開一角，我就再偵察一下，因為如果闞思睿願意回來的話，我就打算把他們家的大玻璃窗敲得粉碎，除非他們讓她出來。她安靜地坐在沙發上。林騰夫人把灰色外套給她身上脫下來，這是我們為了此次出遊而借來的牛奶女工的外套。林騰夫人一邊搖著她的頭，一邊在規勸她，我在想——她是個年輕的小姐，他們把我和她區別對待。然後女仆端來一盆溫水，幫她洗腳，林騰老爺調了一大杯檸檬熱甜酒，伊颯拜菈把滿滿一盤餅子倒在她的懷裏，而愛德嘉站得遠遠的，大張個嘴呆呆地看著。後來他們把她的秀發擦幹梳好，給了她一雙碩大的拖鞋，用輪椅把她推到火爐邊，我就離開了。因為她正高高興興地在把她的食物分給小狗和狐兒吃。狐兒吃的時候，她還捏了它的鼻子，這使得林騰一家人那些空洞的藍眼睛裏燃起了一點生機勃勃的火花——這是她自身迷人臉蛋的模糊映像。我看他們一個個傻不拉唧，麵帶十足的愛慕神情，他們和她一比就相形見絀了，任何東西都無法衡量——他比世上每個人都要優秀，不是嗎，耐莉？”
“這件事的後果要比你所料想的嚴重得多。”我回答，給他掖好被子，滅了燈。“你是沒救啦，黑思克裏夫，亨得利先生一定會采取過激行為的，瞧他會不會吧。”
我的話比我所預料的還要靈驗。這次倒黴的冒失行動使俄韶少爺大發雷霆。隨後林騰老爺為了補救這件事，第二天早上親自在登門來拜訪，而且還給少爺上了一堂課，關於他引導他的家庭走什麽樣的道路，說得少爺真地動了心。這次黑思克裏夫沒有挨鞭子，可是他被告誡——隻要一開口跟闞思睿小姐說一個字，他就會被掃地出門。俄韶太太承擔她小姑回家時給她適當約束的任務，通過耍手腕，而不用武力：用武力她會發現根本行不通。
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(1)狐兒——狗名。
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