辛德雷先生回家奔丧了；而且——这件事实在让我们大吃一惊，也引得邻居们到处议论纷纷——他还带了个妻子回来。她是什么人，在哪里出生，他从未告诉过我们：大概她既没钱也没门第可夸，否则他绝不会瞒着父亲这门亲事。
就她自己而言，倒不是个会把家里搅得鸡犬不宁的人。她跨过门槛的那一刻起，见到的每样东西都似乎让她满心欢喜；身边发生的每件事也是——除了备丧和吊客在场。在那段时间里，看她的举止，我还以为她有点傻：她跑进自己房间，拉着我陪她，虽说那时我本该在给孩子穿衣服；她坐在那儿发抖，双手紧握，一遍遍问——“他们走了没有？”接着她带着歇斯底里的激动，讲起看到黑色给她造成的感受；她惊跳、发颤，终于哭了起来——我问她怎么了，她说不知道，可她怕死怕得厉害！我寻思她和我一样没那么容易死。她相当瘦，但年轻，面色鲜嫩，眼睛亮得像钻石。不过我确实注意到，上楼梯让她喘得厉害；一点突发的响动就让她浑身哆嗦，而且她偶尔咳得叫人烦心：可我哪懂这些症状意味着什么，也没想去同情她。洛克伍德先生，我们这儿一般不爱搭理外乡人，除非他们先来亲近我们。
年轻的恩肖离家三年，变了许多。他瘦了，没了血色，说话穿衣也全不一样；回来的当天就告诉约瑟夫和我，从此我们得搬到后厨房去住，把正屋让给他。其实他本想把一个空房间铺上地毯、糊上纸当客厅；可他妻子对那白地板、大火旺的壁炉、锡镴盘子和陶器柜、狗窝，还有他们常坐处宽敞的活动空间欢喜得不得了，他觉得不必为她的舒服多此一举，便打消了念头。
对新结识的人里有个妹妹，她也显得高兴；起先她对着凯瑟琳叽叽喳喳，亲她，跟她到处跑，还送她一大堆礼物。不过她的亲热劲儿很快就没了，等她发起小性子，辛德雷就暴君似的。她只要说几句不喜欢希斯克利夫的话，就足以燃起他对那男孩旧日的恨。他把希斯克利夫从他们身边赶到佣人堆里，夺了牧师对他的教导，坚持要他在户外干活，逼他像农场上别的少年一样卖力。
起初希斯克利夫还算扛得住这贬损，因为凯蒂把学的教给他，还和他一块儿在田里做活或玩耍。他俩眼看要长成蛮荒野人；年轻的主人对他俩的举止作为全不理会，只要不碍着他。若不是约瑟夫和牧师在他俩不去教堂时斥他疏于管束，他连礼拜天去不去教堂都不管；那一提醒，他才下令鞭希斯克利夫，罚凯瑟琳不吃午膳或晚膳。可他俩一大乐子就是早上跑到荒原，待上一整天，事后的惩罚倒成了笑谈。牧师任凭给凯瑟琳留多少章要背，约瑟夫任凭把希斯克利夫打到胳膊酸，他俩一重逢便忘个精光：至少一凑到一块儿琢磨出什么顽劣的报复计谋就全忘了；我不止一次暗自落泪，看他们一天比一天放肆，我却不敢吭声，怕失了还对这两个无依无靠小东西剩的那点威严。有个周日晚，他俩因吵闹或这类小过被赶出起居室；我去叫他们吃晚饭，却哪儿也寻不见。我们搜了屋里屋下、院子和马厩；踪影皆无：末了辛德雷恼了，叫我们闩门，赌咒那晚谁也不许放他们进来。一家都睡了；我太焦心躺不住，推开格子窗探出头听，虽下着雨：打定主意他俩若回来，不顾禁令也要放进去。不一会儿，我辨出路上脚步声，灯笼光在门缝里晃。我裹了披肩跑出去，免得他们敲门吵醒恩肖先生。只有希斯克利夫一人：看他独自一个，我吓了一跳。
“凯瑟琳小姐呢？”我急急喊。“但愿没出事？”
“在画眉田庄，”他答，“我本也该在那儿，可他们没礼貌留我。”
“好啊，你等着挨收拾！”我说，“不把你赶走你永不肯安分。大老远跑到画眉田庄做什么？”
“让我脱了湿衣，再全告诉你，奈莉，”他回。我嘱他别惊动主人，他脱衣、我候着灭烛时，他接着说——“凯蒂和我从洗衣房溜出来自由逛逛，瞥见田庄灯火，就想前去瞧瞧林顿家怎么过周日傍晚：是不是缩在角落发抖，爹娘坐那儿吃喝说笑，火前把眼都烤瞎。你说他们那样吗？还是读布道文，叫男仆考问，背不出一栏圣经人名？”
“大概不，”我回，“他们好孩子，无疑，不该因你行为不端受你那待遇。”
“别假正经，奈莉，”他说，“胡扯！我们从崖顶一气跑到庄园，凯瑟琳光脚跑输了。明儿你得去沼泽找她鞋。我们钻过破篱，摸路上去，趴在客厅窗下花坛。光从那儿来；没关百叶窗，帘只半拉。我们站地下室扒窗沿都瞧见——啊！真美——红毯红椅红桌的华屋，纯白天花板镶金边，中央银链吊着玻璃珠串，柔烛微光闪闪。老林顿夫妇不在；埃德加和妹妹独享。他们该多快活？我们当进了天堂！猜你那好孩子干吗？伊莎贝拉——我猜十一，小凯蒂一岁——躺屋那头尖叫，像巫婆拿红热针扎她。埃德加立炉边闷哭，桌中蹲小狗，抖爪汪汪；听他们互告，知差点扯成两半。蠢材！这就乐子！抢谁抱那团暖毛，到手又都不要，便哭起来。我们笑这娇货；真瞧不上！你几时见我羡凯瑟琳要的？或见我俩分坐屋两头，嚎啕打滚寻乐？拿一千条命我也不换，不换这儿换埃德加·林顿在画眉田庄——就算准我把约瑟夫从最高山墙扔下、用辛德雷血涂前墙！”
“嘘，嘘！”我截住，“可你还没说，希斯克利夫，凯瑟琳怎落下的？”
“我说了笑来着，”他答，“林顿家听见，齐射箭般冲门；静了，又喊‘噢，妈咪，妈咪！噢，爹地！噢，妈咪来呀。噢，爹地，噢！’真就那般嚎。我们怪叫吓他们，后跳下窗台，因有人拉闩，觉该溜。我拽凯蒂手催她跑，忽她倒了。‘跑，希斯克利夫，跑！’她低语，‘他们放狗了，咬住我！’魔鬼叼她踝，奈莉：我听那恶臭鼻息。她没叫——不！就算被疯牛角穿身也不屑叫。我叫了：咒得够灭基督界任一小鬼；捡石塞狗嘴，拼命捅喉。仆人提灯上来，喊‘咬住，斯库勒，咬住！’见狗耍的把戏，调门却变。狗被掐开；紫舌垂半尺，垂唇滴血沫。人抱凯蒂；她吐了：不是怕，我敢说，是疼。他抱进；我跟，骂咒报仇。‘什么猎物，罗伯特？’林顿门口喊。‘斯库勒逮一小女，先生，’他答，‘这还有小子，’他抓我，‘一看就不是好货！贼趁睡从窗放人开门好杀我们。闭嘴，臭嘴贼，你得上绞架。林顿先生，别搁枪。’‘不，不，罗伯特，’老蠢说，‘匪知昨交租，想耍我。进来，我款待。约翰，锁链。珍妮，给斯库勒水。安息日闯官邸！狂到几时？噢，玛丽，看！别怕，就一孩——可恶相露脸；不等他行事先绞了，岂非为国？’他拖我到灯下，林顿太太戴镜举双手骇。怯孩也凑近，伊莎贝拉呲语‘吓人！爹，关地窖。像偷雉的算命崽。是不是，埃德加？’
“他们审我时，凯蒂醒；听末句，笑。埃德加林顿盯后，认出她。教堂见我们，你知，虽别处少遇。‘那是恩肖小姐！’他悄对娘，‘看斯库勒咬她——脚流血！’
“‘恩肖小姐？胡说！’太太喊，‘恩肖小姐跟吉普赛浪迹？可亲，孩戴孝——确是——或残终生！’
“‘兄长疏忽该死！’林顿先生转对我向凯蒂，‘听希尔德斯’（那是牧师，先生）‘说任她蛮长。可这谁？哪捡伴？噢！我邻旅利物浦捡的怪货——小拉斯卡，或美西漂民。’
“‘坏孩，’老太说，‘不配正经屋！听他言语没，林顿？孩听羞！’
“我重骂——别气，奈莉——罗伯特奉命拖我走。我不丢凯蒂不走；他拖进园，灯塞我手，称必告恩肖我行，令直走，重锁门。帘仍一角掀，我重做探；因凯蒂若回，我不碎大玻璃不罢，不则不放。她静坐沙发。林顿太太脱我们借的奶妈灰斗篷，摇头劝，我猜：她小姐，待她异我。女仆端温水洗脚；林顿先生调酒，伊莎贝拉倒饼入她怀，埃德加远瞪。后擦干梳美发，给大拖鞋，推火边；我离时她乐极，分食小狗斯库勒；捏狗鼻；点亮林顿家空蓝眼——她魅脸的微映。我看他们蠢慕；她比他们——比世人高太多，是不是，奈莉？”
“这事后果比你想的大，”我答，盖好他灭灯，“你没救了，希斯克利夫；辛德雷先生必下狠手，瞧着吧。”话比愿的准。这倒霉事惹暴怒。次日林顿先生亲自来访，训年轻主子治家无方，才真叫他上心。希斯克利夫没挨鞭，但令：再对凯瑟琳小姐说一字，必赶走；嫂子回家，辛德雷太太以巧非力拘小姑；力则难为。
Mr. Hindley came home to the funeral; and—a thing that amazed us, and
set the neighbours gossiping right and left—he brought a wife with him.
What she was, and where she was born, he never informed us: probably,
she had neither money nor name to recommend her, or he would scarcely
have kept the union from his father.
She was not one that would have disturbed the house much on her own
account. Every object she saw, the moment she crossed the threshold,
appeared to delight her; and every circumstance that took place about
her: except the preparing for the burial, and the presence of the
mourners. I thought she was half silly, from her behaviour while that
went on: she ran into her chamber, and made me come with her, though I
should have been dressing the children: and there she sat shivering and
clasping her hands, and asking repeatedly—“Are they gone yet?” Then she
began describing with hysterical emotion the effect it produced on her
to see black; and started, and trembled, and, at last, fell
a-weeping—and when I asked what was the matter, answered, she didn’t
know; but she felt so afraid of dying! I imagined her as little likely
to die as myself. She was rather thin, but young, and
fresh-complexioned, and her eyes sparkled as bright as diamonds. I did
remark, to be sure, that mounting the stairs made her breathe very
quick; that the least sudden noise set her all in a quiver, and that
she coughed troublesomely sometimes: but I knew nothing of what these
symptoms portended, and had no impulse to sympathise with her. We don’t
in general take to foreigners here, Mr. Lockwood, unless they take to
us first.
Young Earnshaw was altered considerably in the three years of his
absence. He had grown sparer, and lost his colour, and spoke and
dressed quite differently; and, on the very day of his return, he told
Joseph and me we must thenceforth quarter ourselves in the
back-kitchen, and leave the house for him. Indeed, he would have
carpeted and papered a small spare room for a parlour; but his wife
expressed such pleasure at the white floor and huge glowing fireplace,
at the pewter dishes and delf-case, and dog-kennel, and the wide space
there was to move about in where they usually sat, that he thought it
unnecessary to her comfort, and so dropped the intention.
She expressed pleasure, too, at finding a sister among her new
acquaintance; and she prattled to Catherine, and kissed her, and ran
about with her, and gave her quantities of presents, at the beginning.
Her affection tired very soon, however, and when she grew peevish,
Hindley became tyrannical. A few words from her, evincing a dislike to
Heathcliff, were enough to rouse in him all his old hatred of the boy.
He drove him from their company to the servants, deprived him of the
instructions of the curate, and insisted that he should labour out of
doors instead; compelling him to do so as hard as any other lad on the
farm.
Heathcliff bore his degradation pretty well at first, because Cathy
taught him what she learnt, and worked or played with him in the
fields. They both promised fair to grow up as rude as savages; the
young master being entirely negligent how they behaved, and what they
did, so they kept clear of him. He would not even have seen after their
going to church on Sundays, only Joseph and the curate reprimanded his
carelessness when they absented themselves; and that reminded him to
order Heathcliff a flogging, and Catherine a fast from dinner or
supper. But it was one of their chief amusements to run away to the
moors in the morning and remain there all day, and the after punishment
grew a mere thing to laugh at. The curate might set as many chapters as
he pleased for Catherine to get by heart, and Joseph might thrash
Heathcliff till his arm ached; they forgot everything the minute they
were together again: at least the minute they had contrived some
naughty plan of revenge; and many a time I’ve cried to myself to watch
them growing more reckless daily, and I not daring to speak a syllable,
for fear of losing the small power I still retained over the unfriended
creatures. One Sunday evening, it chanced that they were banished from
the sitting-room, for making a noise, or a light offence of the kind;
and when I went to call them to supper, I could discover them nowhere.
We searched the house, above and below, and the yard and stables; they
were invisible: and, at last, Hindley in a passion told us to bolt the
doors, and swore nobody should let them in that night. The household
went to bed; and I, too anxious to lie down, opened my lattice and put
my head out to hearken, though it rained: determined to admit them in
spite of the prohibition, should they return. In a while, I
distinguished steps coming up the road, and the light of a lantern
glimmered through the gate. I threw a shawl over my head and ran to
prevent them from waking Mr. Earnshaw by knocking. There was
Heathcliff, by himself: it gave me a start to see him alone.
