"I am afraid, Nelly, I shall lose my labour," he muttered to me. "Miss Catherine, as the ninny calls her, will discover his value, and send him to the devil. Now, if it had been Hareton!-Do you know that, twenty times a day, I covet Hareton, with all his degradation? I'd have loved the lad had he been some one else. But I think he's safe from _her_ love. I'll pit him against that paltry creature, unless it bestir itself briskly. We calculate it will scarcely last till it is eighteen. Oh, confound the vapid thing! He's absorbed in drying his feet, and never looks at her.-Linton!"
"Yes, father," answered the boy.

'I am afraid, Nelly, I shall lose my labour,' he muttered to me. 'Miss Catherine will discover his value, and send him to the devil. Now, if it had been Hareton! - Do you know that, twenty times a day, I covet Hareton, with all his degradation? I'd have loved the lad if he had been someone else. I think he's safe from her love, but I'll pit him against that paltry creature, if it doesn't bestir itself. We calculate it will scarcely last till it's eighteen. Oh, confound the vapid thing! He's drying his feet, and never looks at her. Linton!'
'Yes, father,' answered the boy.
