'That's good news.'
I got Miss Catherine and myself to Thrushcross Grange; and, to my
agreeable disappointment, she behaved infinitely better than I
dared to expect. She seemed almost over-fond of Mr. Linton; and
even to his sister she showed plenty of affection. They were both
very attentive to her comfort, certainly. It was not the thorn
bending to the honeysuckles, but the honeysuckles embracing the
thorn. There were no mutual concessions: one stood erect, and the
others yielded: and who can be ill-natured and bad-tempered when
they encounter neither opposition nor indifference? I observed
that Mr. Edgar had a deep-rooted fear of ruffling her humour. He
concealed it from her; but if ever he heard me answer sharply, or
saw any other servant grow cloudy at some imperious order of hers,
he would show his trouble by a frown of displeasure that never
darkened on his own account. He many a time spoke sternly to me
about my pertness; and averred that the stab of a knife could not
inflict a worse pang than he suffered at seeing his lady vexed.
Not to grieve a kind master, I learned to be less touchy; and, for
the space of half a year, the gunpowder lay as harmless as sand,
because no fire came near to explode it. Catherine had seasons of
gloom and silence now and then: they were respected with
sympathising silence by her husband, who ascribed them to an
alteration in her constitution, produced by her perilous illness;
as she was never subject to depression of spirits before. The
return of sunshine was welcomed by answering sunshine from him. I
believe I may assert that they were really in possession of deep
and growing happiness.
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