Грозовой перевал / Wuthering Heights

В«Did you say it was eighteen years?

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

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

В«Her name was Catherine Earnshaw.В»

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

В«And what happened to Catherine Earnshaw?В» В«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.

В»

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

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

«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 - he’s as rough as a saw-edge and as hard as the rocks on the moor – он жесток, как лезвие пилы и тверд, как скалы на вересковой пустоши]! But he’s rich too.

В»

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

«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.

В»

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 - I ran errands – я выполняла поручения] 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.