Wuthering Bites (26 page)

S
ummer was already past its prime when Edgar reluctantly yielded his assent to Catherine and Linton's entreaties, and she and I set out on our first ride to join her cousin.

It was a close, sultry day, devoid of sunshine, but with a sky too dappled and hazy to threaten rain, and our place of meeting had been fixed at the guide-stone, by the crossroads. On arriving there, however, a dark-haired, pale-skinned young man who, though dressed like a herd-boy, looked like a vampire to me, had been dispatched as a messenger from Wuthering Heights. He told us that Master Linton was just on the other side of the Heights and he would be much obliged if we would join him there.

By the time we reached him, we were scarcely a quarter of a mile from his own door. Worse, we found he had no horse, and we were forced to dismount and leave ours to graze. The vampire boy turned herder had followed us and now watched closely from a distance, as if he had been sent to spy.

Linton lay on the heath, awaiting our approach, and did not rise till we came within a few yards. Then he walked so feebly, and looked so pale, that I immediately exclaimed—

‘Why, Master Heathcliff, you are not fit for enjoying a ramble this morning. How ill you do look! Have you been bitten?'

‘Certainly not,' he grumbled. ‘My father will not allow it. Nor will he allow my own partaking of Joseph's cure for my ailment.'

‘What nonsense do you speak of?' I asked. ‘You cannot mean Joseph wants you to drink human blood?'

‘The wretch claims it would make me strong again, but Papa will not allow it.'

‘A good thing,' I commented. ‘Who would take the word of a man who willingly allows bloodsuckers to feed on him? For all we know, he enjoys it!'

Catherine surveyed Linton with grief and astonishment, not seeming to be disturbed by talk of drinking blood. It's funny how what once seemed beyond reason becomes perfectly reasonable over time. ‘Are you worse than usual?' she asked him.

‘No—better—better!' he panted, trembling and retaining her hand as if he needed its support. His large dark eyes wandered timidly over her, the hollowness round them transforming to haggard wildness the languid expression they once possessed.

‘But you are worse,' persisted his cousin. ‘You're worse than when I saw you last—you are thinner, and—'

‘I'm tired,' he interrupted hurriedly. ‘It is too hot for walking. Do you forget that I have not been born with your robust nature? Let us rest here.'

Cathy sat down, and he reclined beside her. ‘This is something like your paradise,' said she, making an effort at cheerfulness. ‘You recollect the two days we agreed to spend in the place and way each thought pleasantest? This is nearly yours, only there are clouds, but then they are so soft and mellow, it is nicer than sunshine. Next week, if you can, we'll ride down to the Grange park, and perhaps we'll get lucky and be attacked by a vampire and I will show you the skills I've learned from the books Hareton gave me from your papa's library.'

I had not realized she had more forbidden books, but I did not think that was the time to discuss the matter with her.

Either Linton did not remember what she spoke of or he was ignoring her, having no intention of riding to the Grange to allow himself to possibly be attacked by vampires and risk his life on the chance that Cathy could defend them. In truth, he didn't seem all that pleased to see her. An indefinite alteration had come over his whole person and manner. The pettishness that might be caressed into fondness had yielded to a listless apathy.

Catherine perceived, as well as I did, that he held it rather a punishment than a gratification to endure our company, and she soon proposed we leave.

That proposal unexpectedly roused Linton from his lethargy, and threw him into a strange state of agitation. He glanced fearfully towards the Heights, begging she would remain another half-hour, at least.

I wondered why he was so intent upon our staying and I glanced at the young bloodsucker that still watched us. Had the two of them set up some sort of ambush? Were we to be made into an evening supper?

‘I think,' said Cathy, ‘you'd be more comfortable at home than sitting here. Obviously I cannot amuse you today by my tales and songs. In the last six months it appears that you have lost your taste for my diversions.'

‘So stay to rest yourself,' he replied.

‘I am a vampire slayer! I don't need rest.'

‘You are no such thing! You are a female. And Catherine, don't think or say that I'm very unwell, for it's only the heavy weather and heat that makes me dull. Tell Uncle I'm in tolerable health, will you?'

‘I'll tell him that
you
say so, Linton. I couldn't affirm that you are,' observed my young lady.

‘And be here again next Thursday,' continued he. ‘And give him my thanks for permitting you to come. And—and, if you
did
meet my father, and he asked you about me, don't lead him to suppose that I've been silent and stupid. Don't look sad and downcast, as you are doing—he'll be angry.'

‘I care nothing for his anger,' exclaimed Cathy.

And on my faith, I do believe that she truly did not, for she was a most courageous lass, my Cathy.

‘But I do,' said her cousin, shuddering. ‘
Don't
provoke him against me, Catherine, for he is very hard.'

‘Is he severe to you, Master Heathcliff?' I inquired. ‘Has he grown weary of indulgence, and passed from passive to active hatred?' He did not answer. ‘When last we came we saw evidence that Joseph conspires with the bloodsuckers. Does Joseph mistreat you?'

‘He is as mistreated as I. Worse, I think.' Linton turned his sour face on me. ‘Do not think he gives himself voluntarily to the bloodsuckers, old woman! It is my father who gives him to them. How else do you think he has been able to control them all these years?'

I did not believe the boy. What he was saying was beyond belief, and I already knew him to be a liar. ‘Mr. Heathcliff has controlled them because he is a gypsy vampire slayer by birth. They fear him, that is why they stay in check,' I explained.

Linton did not answer, and eventually his head drooped drowsily and he uttered nothing except suppressed moans of exhaustion or pain. Cathy began to seek solace in looking for bilberries and shared the produce of her researches with me.

‘It is half an hour now, Nelly!' she whispered in my ear, eyeing the herd-boy. ‘I can't tell why we should stay. He's asleep, and Papa will be wanting us back.'

‘Well, we must not leave him asleep,' I answered. ‘That vampire boy might pounce on him, though I doubt he would offer much of a meal considering how puny he is. But let's wait until Linton wakes.'

Linton here started from his slumber in bewildered terror, and asked if anyone had called his name.

‘No,' said Catherine. ‘Unless in dreams. I cannot conceive how you manage to doze, out of doors, in the morning.'

‘I thought I heard my father,' he gasped, glancing at the herd-boy, who now amused himself by picking flowers and braiding them into a chain of blossoms. ‘You are sure nobody spoke?'

‘Quite sure,' replied his cousin, rising. ‘For today, we must part,' she said. ‘And I won't conceal that I have been sadly disappointed with our meeting, though I'll mention it to nobody but you. Not that I stand in awe of Mr. Heathcliff!'

‘Hush,' murmured Linton. ‘For God's sake, hush! He's coming.' And he clung to Catherine's arm, but she hastily disengaged herself and whistled to Minny, who obeyed like a dog.

‘I'll be here next Thursday,' she cried, springing to the saddle. ‘Good-bye. Quick, Nelly!'

And so we left him, scarcely conscious of our departure, so absorbed was he in anticipating his father's approach.

Before we reached home, Catherine's displeasure softened into a perplexed sensation of pity and regret. She had vague, uneasy doubts about Linton's actual circumstances, physical and social, and I had to agree with her. But for the time being, we both agreed we would say nothing of our fears to her father of the strange visit. A second journey would make us better judges.

S
even days glided away and we set off toward the Heights on a golden afternoon in August. Catherine's face was just like the landscape—shadows and sunshine flitting over it in rapid succession, but the shadows rested longer, and the sunshine was more transient.

We found Linton in the same place as the previous week; there was no sign of the vampire herd-boy, but I kept a watch for him. My young mistress dismounted and told me that I had better hold the pony and remain on horseback; she didn't intend to stay long. Just because I didn't see the vampire boy didn't mean he wasn't there, and I refused to let Cathy leave my sight. We climbed the slope of heath together.

Master Heathcliff received us with greater animation than the previous week, but not the animation of high spirits; it looked more like fear.

‘It is late!' he said, speaking short and with difficulty. ‘Isn't your father very ill? I thought you wouldn't come.'

‘
Why
don't you just say you don't want me to come anymore?' cried Catherine, swallowing her greeting. ‘And spare us both this pain?'

Linton shivered, and glanced at her, half supplicating, half ashamed.

‘My father
is
very ill,' she said. ‘So why am I called from his bedside when you wished I wouldn't come? I desire an explanation, and I can't dance attendance on your affections now!'

‘My affections!' he murmured. ‘For Heaven's sake, Catherine, don't look so angry! Despise me as much as you please. I am a worthless, cowardly wretch, but I'm too mean for your anger—hate my father, and spare me for contempt.'

‘Nonsense!' cried Catherine, in a passion. ‘Foolish, silly boy. I shall return home; it is folly pretending we still care for each other. Rise, and don't degrade yourself into an abject reptile!'

With streaming face and an expression of agony, Linton threw himself on the ground and seemed convulsed with exquisite terror. ‘Oh!' he sobbed, ‘I cannot bear it! Catherine, Catherine, I'm a traitor, too, and I dare not tell you! But leave me and I shall be killed!
Dear
Catherine, my life is in your hands. You'll not go, then? Kind, sweet, good Catherine! And perhaps you
will
consent—and he'll let me die with you!'

My young lady, on witnessing his intense anguish, stooped to raise him.

‘My father threatened me,' gasped the boy. ‘And I dread him—I dread him! I
dare
not tell the truth of him!'

‘Oh well!' said Catherine, with scornful compassion. ‘Keep your secret.
I'm
no coward—save yourself. I'm not afraid!'

I was considering what the mystery might be, with several choices, each more horrendous than the previous, when I heard the sound of hoofbeats. I looked up and saw Mr. Heathcliff almost upon us, descending on a great black steed looking to be straight from the apocalyptic pages of Revelation. Behind him rode the herd-boy, black hair streaming in the wind, clinging to his waist, a triumphant look on his bloodless face.

‘It is something to see you so near my house, Nelly!' He reined in abruptly, allowing the horse to rear and bring its hooves dangerously close to my head. ‘How are you at the Grange? Let us hear! The rumor goes,' Heathcliff added in a lower tone, ‘that Edgar Linton is on his deathbed.' The horse blew and snorted, prancing on massive legs. ‘Perhaps they exaggerate his illness?'

The boy pitched himself off the back of the equine beast of hell. I kept my eye on him and my hand on my silver dagger in my apron pocket as I replied to Mr. Heathcliff. ‘My master is dying,' I replied. ‘It is true enough. A sad thing it will be for us all, but a blessing for him, for he will soon join his missus.'

‘You think so, Nelly? You think he will lie beside her in her restless grave? Do you—'

‘Sir!' I interrupted, cutting my eyes toward Catherine. ‘This is not a matter to be discussed before gentle ears.'

He frowned, reining his big black horse around me in a circle. He wide-eyed, teeth gleaming, and the horse seemed as fierce as the devil's steed as well. ‘How long will Mr. Linton last, do you think?' he asked.

‘I don't know,' I said. Again, I had my thoughts, but I'd not share them with him. He might be high and mighty now, but he would never be gentry no matter how many called him master. He was naught but gypsy spawn whose bareness I had bathed, and I'd not forget it.

‘Because that lad yonder seems determined to beat me to the kirkyard, and I'd thank his uncle to be quick, and go before him. But first—get up, Linton! Get up!' he shouted, turning on the boy. ‘Don't grovel on the ground, there—up this moment!'

As Mr. Heathcliff whirled the monstrous horse around, Linton sank prostrate in a paroxysm of helpless fear. Miss Cathy put herself between the boy and the man.

‘
Damn
you! Get up!' Mr. Heathcliff commanded.

‘I will, Father!' Linton panted. ‘Only, let me alone, or I shall faint! I've done as you wished. Catherine will tell you that I—that I—have been cheerful. Catherine, give me your hand.'

‘You, boy!' Catherine ordered the pale-as-paste herder. ‘Help me!'

To my surprise, the little demon came running to do her bidding.

‘You would imagine I was the devil himself,' Mr. Heathcliff grumbled, watching Cathy and her self-made servant lift Linton to his feet. ‘Miss Linton, be so kind as to walk home with him, will you? He shudders if I touch him.'

‘Linton, dear!' whispered Catherine. ‘I can't go to Wuthering Heights…Papa has forbidden me. Why are you so afraid?'

‘I can never re-enter that house,' he answered. ‘I'm
not
to re-enter it without you!'

‘Fine, I'll respect the young lady's scruples,' cried his father. ‘Nelly, take him in.'

‘I must remain with my mistress. To mind your son is not my business.'

‘Fine. Come then, Linton.' Mr. Heathcliff leaned down, grasping the collar of his son's coat to lift him off the ground by the scruff of his neck. ‘Are you willing to return, escorted by me?'

But Linton clung like a leech to his cousin and the herd-boy, screaming that she should accompany him.

‘Let him go!' Miss Cathy demanded, looking straight into the black eyes of hell. ‘I will escort him to the house.'

‘You must not,' I cried, but she silenced me with a look. Determined was she, young or not; she showed her breeding in every line. She was a lady, in spite of her odd ways, and I could not stand against her, not even to please her father.

Mr. Heathcliff released his son and the boy crumpled to the ground, only getting to his feet with Cathy's and the vampire boy's assistance. Together, an odd threesome, they made their way toward Wuthering Heights.

We reached the threshold and the little vampire declared he could go no farther; he was not permitted inside. I stood waiting while Catherine conducted the invalid to a chair, expecting her out immediately. Mr. Heathcliff came from behind me on foot and pushed me forward.

‘My house is not stricken with the plague, Nelly. Come in.'

‘It's not the plague I worry about, sir,' I said, eyeing the boy vampire.

‘I have a mind to be hospitable today,' Mr. Heathcliff continued, quite congenially. ‘Come in, sit down, and allow me to shut the door.'

He shut it and locked it also. I started.

‘You shall have tea before you go home,' he added. ‘I am by myself. Hareton is gone off on one of his journeys and Zillah and Joseph have gone to Gimmerton. And, though I'm used to being alone, I'd rather have some interesting company, if I can get it. Miss Linton, take your seat by
him.
How she does stare!' he said, looking back to me. ‘It's odd what a savage feeling I have to anything that seems afraid of me! Had I been born where laws are less strict, and tastes less dainty, I should treat myself to a slow vivisection of those two, as an evening's amusement.' He drew in his breath, struck the table, and swore to himself. ‘By hell! I hate them.'

‘I'm not afraid of you!' exclaimed Catherine, who could not hear the latter part of his speech.

She stepped close up, leaving Linton's side, her eyes flashing with passion and resolution. ‘Give me that key. I will have it!' she said. ‘I wouldn't eat or drink here if I were starving.'

Heathcliff had the key in his hand that remained on the table. He looked up, seized with a sort of surprise at her boldness, or, possibly, reminded by her voice and glance, of the person from whom she inherited it.

She snatched at the instrument, and half succeeded in getting it out of his loosened fingers, but he recovered it speedily.

‘Now, Catherine Linton,' he said. ‘Back off, or I shall knock you down, and that will make Mrs. Dean mad.'

Regardless of this warning, she captured his closed hand and its contents again.

‘We
will
go!' she repeated, exerting her utmost efforts to cause the iron muscles to relax, and finding that her nails made no impression, she applied her teeth pretty sharply.

Heathcliff shot a look at me that kept me from interfering. His black eyes were so intense, so frightening, that I expected his teeth to grow into fangs at any moment. Catherine was too intent on his fingers to notice his face. ‘I know what you are!' she shouted. ‘Linton told me—'

He opened his hand, the key fell, and in one swift movement he slapped her in the face.

At this diabolical violence, I rushed on him furiously, drawing my dagger from my apron. ‘You villain!' I began to cry. ‘You villain!'

He saw the glint of the dagger and, I swear by all that is holy, moved quicker than humanly possible. He hit my forearm so hard with his fist that I staggered dizzily back.

‘No silver in my house!' the fiend raged. ‘Pick it up! Pick it up and throw it out the window,' he ordered Cathy.

Trembling like a reed, poor thing, she did as he ordered, tossing my small but mighty weapon into the yard through the tiny opening in the window.

Mr. Heathcliff picked up the key from the floor, and when he looked at Cathy again, he seemed to have gained control of himself. ‘Go to Linton now, as I told you, and cry at your ease! I shall be your father tomorrow—all the father you'll have in a few days—and you shall have plenty of that—you can bear plenty—you're no weakling—you shall have a daily taste, if I catch such a devil of a temper in your eyes again!'

Cathy ran to me instead of Linton, and knelt down, and put her burning cheek on my lap, weeping aloud. As brave as she was, his attack had been a shock. In her life, none had ever struck her, and she knew not how to bear it.

Mr. Heathcliff, ignoring us all, tucked the key into his pocket and made tea. The cups and saucers were laid ready. He poured it and handed me a cup. I took one sniff and looked him in his eye. ‘I prefer mine with a heavy dollop of garlic,' I dared to say.

‘Well, I do not.' He was silent for a moment, his gaze locked solidly with mine, but then he looked away. ‘I'm going out to seek your horses. Do not try to leave.' His black-eyed gaze met mine again as he made his departure. ‘You know what lies beyond these doors, Mrs. Dean. I have given them leave to do as they please, should anyone leave this house unescorted by me.'

I had only to peer out the window to spot not just the herd-boy vampire, but two other shady characters in black cloaks, the same two I had seen feeding on Joseph that day. When they caught my eye, the female smiled, baring her fangs, and gave a little wave. I slammed the window shut and turned the latch. ‘Master Linton,' I cried, whipping around to face him. ‘You know what your diabolical father is after. Tell us or I'll box your ears.'

‘Yes, Linton, you must tell,' said Catherine. ‘It was for your sake I came, and it will be wickedly ungrateful if you refuse.'

‘Give me some tea and then I'll tell you,' he answered. ‘Mrs. Dean, go away. I don't like you standing over me.'

Catherine gave him his tea and wiped her face. I felt disgusted at the little wretch's composure, since he was no longer in terror for himself. The anguish he had exhibited on the moor subsided as soon as he entered Wuthering Heights, so I guessed that now that he had done his father's evil bidding, he had no further immediate fears.

‘Papa wants us to be married,' he continued, after sipping some of the liquid. ‘And he knows your papa wouldn't let us marry now, and he's afraid of my dying if we wait. We are to be married in the morning, and you are to stay here all night. If you do as he wishes, you shall return home the next day, and take me with you.'

‘Take you with her, pitiful changeling?' I exclaimed. ‘
Marry
you? Why, the man is mad! Do you imagine that beautiful young lady, that healthy, hearty girl, will tie herself to a little perishing monkey like you? Are you cherishing the notion that
anybody,
let alone Miss Catherine Linton, would have you for a husband? I've a very good mind to shake you severely, for your contemptible treachery, and your imbecile conceit.'

I did give him a slight shaking, but it brought on the cough, and he took to his ordinary resource of moaning and weeping.

‘Stay all night? No!' Cathy said, looking slowly round. ‘Nelly, I'll burn that door down, but I'll get out.'

‘And let the vampires string you up and suck the blood from your veins until you're nothing but a pretty little shell?' I demanded. ‘Your papa will certainly appreciate that. Your grave will need not be deep or wide.'

Linton clasped her in his two feeble arms, sobbing. ‘Won't you have me, and save me? Oh! Darling Catherine! You mustn't go, and leave me, after all. You
must
obey my father, you
must! You do not know what he is, what he is capable of doing!
'

Our jailer re-entered at that moment. ‘Your beasts have trotted off,' he said. ‘Linton! Sniveling again? What has she been doing to you? Come, come, get to bed. Zillah won't be here tonight; you must undress yourself. Hush! Hold your noise! Once in your own room, I'll not come near you, you needn't fear. By chance, you've managed tolerably. I'll look to the rest.'