Heathcliff reveals his plan to Nelly and the readers, along with his rationale that he is doing this, only as a safeguard against legal disputes. It is interesting that he still considers Nelly a confidant. Often, in the past, she took his side, and he clearly still thinks he can manipulate her. He is correct in his assumptions, for as he convinces Cathy to seek out his son, Nelly's chief concern is that Edgar will find out of the visit, and she laments "and I shall have the blame."
After Heathcliff reveals his plan and Nelly counters that Cathy would be Edgar's heir, Heathcliff's response foreshadows the fact that Edgar's lawyer is now on Heathcliff's payroll, for Heathcliff knows that "there is no clause in the will to secure it so." The only way he could know what Edgar's will stated is by being privy to it. And there is no way that Edgar would have allowed Heathcliff to know the contents of his will; therefore, Edgar's lawyer must have shown Heathcliff, or at least shared the contents.
When Nelly and Cathy arrive at Wuthering Heights, Linton has grown but is still as disagreeable as ever. He joins Cathy in making fun of Hareton's lack of a formal education and whines about not being able to travel the four miles to Thrushcross Grange. Logically, he argues, he is too sick to travel; therefore, Cathy must visit him.
Once again, Nelly's priorities seem to be skewed. Instead of telling Edgar about Cathy's letter writing, she takes it upon herself to burn them all, only threatening to tell Edgar. Nelly keeps Cathy's secret the same way that Cathy kept Nelly's secret (in Chapter 18); thus acting as Cathy's friend. Nelly will not always keep Cathy's secrets, as readers soon find out.
