The Heights by Juliet Bell

Author:Juliet Bell [Bell, Juliet]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2018-01-15T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Four

July, 1990

Edward pulled the car into the driveway. ‘It’s nice to be home, isn’t it? I mean, not that the honeymoon wasn’t wonderful… But it’s still nice to be home.’

Cathy wasn’t so sure. The honeymoon had taken her to places she’d only seen in brochures before. The beach had been acres of soft white sand, lapped by brilliant blue sea. The hotel room had fresh fruit in a bowl that was refilled every day, and on the first night a tall Spanish man had brought champagne ‘for the newlyweds’ right to their door. But there was always something more. One day they’d walked along the beach until they came to a section that was fenced off, only for the use of guests at a more exclusive hotel. However far she came, it was always the same. There was always something else above her, just out of reach. She looked at Thrushcross Grange. This had been her dream. Now it looked smaller than she remembered. Small and cold and drab, like the rest of Gimmerton.

Edward parked the car and raced around to open her door. Taking her hand, he led her to the front steps, then suddenly picked her up.

‘What are you doing?’ She struggled for a second. ‘Put me down.’

‘No way, Mrs Linton. I’m carrying you across the threshold as tradition dictates.’

Cathy wrapped her hands around Edward’s neck and looked at his smiling face. He was very sweet sometimes. She pushed down her discontent, and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Thrushcross might not be a mansion on the Med, but it was a start. Edward was a good man. Her future now was the brightest it had ever been. One day soon they would leave Gimmerton behind and she would move up into a whole other world.

Edward struggled for a few seconds, but finally opened the door. He stepped through the arch, taking care not to bang Cathy’s feet against the wall. He carried her a few steps into the hallway then slowly lowered her to the ground. And he froze – his eyes fixed on something behind her. The back of Cathy’s neck began to prickle. Something about Edward’s face made her afraid to look. Slowly, as if pulled by a giant magnet, she finally began to turn.

The black-clad figure seemed to fill the hallway. The dim light streaming in through the open doorway didn’t touch his face. But Cathy didn’t need it to. In a heartbeat, she felt her other self. Ignoring Edward’s gasp, Cathy took two swift steps to close the distance between herself and Heathcliff. She took his hand and without a word dragged him through an opened doorway into the living room and over to the big glass windows, where the light was strongest.

‘Let me look at you,’ she commanded.

Heathcliff obeyed, as he always had. He stood like a stone as she looked him up and down. He was much taller now than he had been. The man was not as lean as the boy.

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