Wuthering Heights - Chapter 2
The_Ghost_in_the_Night
Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold. I had half a mind to spend it by my study fire, instead of wading through heath and mud to Wuthering Heights.
'You have brought me a letter, I hope,' said my host, 'from Mrs. Dean?'
'No,' I replied.
'You are not accustomed to the country, I can tell by your accent,' he said. 'Where did you come from?'
'From the south.'
He went to the window, measuring the height with his eye, and then looked at me.
'If you stay here, I shall be your landlord's neighbor for some time. Will you tell me your name?'
'Mr. Lockwood,' I answered. 'And yours is Mr. Heathcliff?'
'Heathcliff,' he replied.
'And your wife is living, I suppose?'
'My wife is dead.'
That night, a strange thing happened. I was awakened by a sound at my window. I imagined it was a branch of a fir tree tapping against the pane, as I had heard it in the windy weather before. I determined to silence it, and pulled the sash.
But it was no branch! A small, pale hand, and the face of a child looked through the window.
'Let me in! Let me in!' cried a voice.
'Who are you?' I asked, pulling back the curtain.
'No, you won't!' she said, when she saw me. 'I have been a waif for twenty years.'
The ghost continued to tap at the pane. I felt horror and called for help.
'What's the matter?' shouted Heathcliff from below.
'There's someone at your window, sir,' I answered.
Heathcliff opened the window, but there was nothing there. He seemed disappointed. He rushed down the stairs.
The next morning, I asked Mrs. Dean about the ghost. She looked pale and frightened.
'It was Catherine Earnshaw,' she said. 'Mr. Heathcliff's love. She died many years ago, but her spirit has never left Wuthering Heights.'
I was stunned. A real ghost! In England! And in my landlord's house!
'You must leave,' Mrs. Dean said urgently. 'Mr. Heathcliff will not like that you have seen her.'
But I was curious. I wanted to know more about this Catherine and about Heathcliff. And so, I stayed, little knowing that my curiosity would lead me into the dark history of Wuthering Heights.