Nelly reports that “[t]he twelve years […] following that dismal period, were the happiest of [her] life” (137). She looks after young Cathy, who is growing into a beauty and who remains close to Thrushcross Grange until she is 13. Cathy has no knowledge of Wuthering Heights nor of Heathcliff, and her curiosity about her surroundings grows as she gets older.

Isabella, while dying, has written to Edgar, asking him to come to London to settle matters and bid her farewell. As well, she hopes that Edgar will take her 12-year-old son, Linton. Edgar leaves for three weeks, and, in his absence, Nelly allows Cathy to travel around the grounds. Soon, Cathy is spotted by a laborer leaving the property. Nelly rushes to Wuthering Heights, and a servant allows her in. Nelly sees “[her] stray lamb seated on the hearth, rocking herself in a little chair that had been her mother’s when a child” (140), talking with Hareton comfortably. Nelly scolds Cathy for her betrayal of trust, and Hareton tries to defend her, explaining that Cathy didn’t want to worry Nelly. Nelly pushes Cathy to leave. In her impatience, she tells Cathy that if she knew whose house Wuthering Heights was, she would be glad to leave. This comment causes Cathy to wonder about Hareton’s place at the house; she speaks to him like a servant when he admits the house does not belong to his father. Nelly reminds Cathy to be better-mannered, as Hareton is her cousin, a fact that upsets Cathy. Hareton tries to be helpful, which upsets Cathy even more, but he accompanies them home to the Grange anyway. Nelly believes Hareton has a better character than his father, and though he is clearly uneducated, she sees no evidence of maltreatment at the hands of Heathcliff. According to villagers, Heathcliff is a cruel landlord, but the house itself has improved since Hindley’s ownership of it.

Nelly receives a letter from Edgar, who is soon returning home to Thrushcross Grange from London with his nephew, Linton. Isabella has died. Edgar arrives to a warm greeting from his daughter while Nelly notices the “pale, delicate, effeminate boy, who might have been taken for [her] master’s younger brother, so strong was the resemblance” (145). Cathy feels sorry for the boy, who is tearful and exhausted, and her gentle kindness toward Linton pleases him. Edgar and Nelly discuss the benefits of keeping Linton at the Grange, but Joseph arrives from Wuthering Heights to announce that Heathcliff wants Linton home at Wuthering Heights. Edgar does not allow Linton to be moved until the next day.

Edgar asks Nelly to take Linton to his father, lamenting, “[W]e shall now have no influence over his destiny, good or bad” (148). Linton is reluctant to go, saying, “Mamma never told me I had a father” (148), but he finally leaves after being told, falsely, that he will not have to stay. While riding with Nelly to Wuthering Heights, Linton asks many questions about his new home and his father.

Upon their arrival at Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff is not impressed with the frail boy, who he says resembles his mother. Nelly leaves Linton, asking Heathcliff to show him kindness; Heathcliff’s response is harsh, as he says that he hates both Linton himself and the memories he recalls. Heathcliff has hired a tutor to educate his son, and he plans for Linton to inherit both family estates, referring to his plan to obtain Thrushcross Grange. Joseph tries to give Linton porridge, which Linton rejects, and Nelly advises what to give the boy to eat before making her exit.

Cathy is sad and listless without Linton, so Edgar tries to soothe her with promises of his return. When Nelly meets the housekeeper of Wuthering Heights in town, she learns that things are not going well at Wuthering Heights: “I never knew such a faint-hearted creature [as Linton]” (153). Linton resists Hareton’s attempts to amuse him and “the master would relish Earnshaw’s thrashing him to a mummy, if he were not his son” (153). Nelly concludes that Linton has been spoiled by the utter lack of sympathy at Wuthering Heights.

Cathy turns 16, and in honor of her birthday, she wants to spend the day on the moors. Heathcliff and Hareton find her hunting for grouse eggs. After learning Cathy’s identity, Heathcliff invites both Cathy and Nelly to Wuthering Heights. Nelly is distressed when Cathy accepts, anticipating Edgar’s reaction. In turn, Heathcliff explains to Nelly that he wants Cathy and Linton to marry so that Linton will inherit Thrushcross Grange when Edgar dies. Heathcliff acts charmingly toward Cathy but advises Cathy to keep her visit to Wuthering Heights a secret, as there is bad blood between him and her father. Cathy, meanwhile, is delighted to find Linton as handsome as ever.

Hareton enters the scene, and Heathcliff asks him to show Cathy around the farm. Heathcliff confides in Nelly that his revenge plan is underway, delighting in his influence over Hareton. Nelly and Cathy stay until the afternoon, and upon their return home to Thrushcross Grange, Cathy tells her father about their visit to Wuthering Heights. Edgar tells her about Isabella and Heathcliff, describing Heathcliff as evil and saying that he dislikes Edgar. Cathy tries to defend Heathcliff, but Edgar forbids her from going to Wuthering Heights and consorting with the family living there. This upsets Cathy because Linton is expecting to see her again. Nelly refuses to give Cathy permission to send him a note explaining her absence, but, within weeks, Nelly finds love letters from Linton in Cathy’s books. Nelly burns them, suspecting that Heathcliff was behind some of the more polished phrasing.

Summer ends, and in the fall, Edgar is quiet and seems sicker than usual, which subdues Cathy as well as the rest of the household. Nelly and Cathy go for a walk, and Cathy voices her melancholy, worrying about the time when her father and Nelly are dead. Cathy drops her hat and climbs over a wall to find it, leaving Nelly on the other side and encountering Heathcliff on horseback. He scolds Cathy for stopping her letters to Linton so abruptly, “making love in play […] [and] breaking his heart at [her] fickleness” (169). Without realizing Nelly is within earshot, he suggests that she resume her letter-writing to revive Linton’s health, which infuriates Nelly. Heathcliff threatens to send her letters to Linton to her father while pressuring her to write to Linton. Cathy believes Heathcliff, insisting to Nelly that she must write to Linton, and Nelly agrees to take Cathy to Wuthering Heights the next day, hoping Linton’s reception of them will prove Heathcliff’s story to be false.