Wuthering Heights Chapter 18

Nelly confessed that the twelve years after Catherine's death were the happiest in her life. She had little Cathy to take care of; she grew up to be a beautiful girl, her features a mix of Linton and Earnshaw. She was sweet and sensitive, but also spoiled, and could be bold. Her father loved her, and made sure she was educated and happy. She did not know about the Heights, as she was only allowed outside the park with her father, who desired to keep their neighbors a secret. Cathy was anxious to cross the hills, and visit Penistone Craggs, several miles away. But her father prohibited any such travels. He went away for a few weeks when Isabella was near dying, and during the three weeks he was away, Cathy took many solitary walks around the Grange. But one day she did not return for dinner, and Nelly had to go looking for her. A worker saw her jump her pony over the fence, leaving the property. Worried, Nelly sets out for Penistone Crags, thinking Cathy headed that way.

She tried the Heights, and found Cathy there. Luckily, Heathcliff was not at home. Cathy was happy inside, talking to Hareton. Nelly ordered her to leave, but Cathy didn't understand what all the fuss was about. She made Hareton angry when she spoke to him like a servant, then got angry herself when the maid told her that Hareton was her cousin. Shocked to hear that such an ignorant and crude boy could be her relation, she started to cry. Hareton gave her a puppy to make her feel better, but she still cried. After they left, Cathy told Nelly that she had been on her way to Penistone Craggs when one of Hareton's dogs attacked her own, and she was obliged to enter. Hareton treated her well, and told her about the Craggs and the Fairy cave, but he withdrew after she called him a servant. So angry at Hareton's mean reaction, she threatened to tell her father, but Nelly made her promise not to. Nelly told Cathy that her father disapproved of the Heights and its inhabitants, and that she should never go there again, to which Cathy reluctantly agreed.