Mr. Lockwood intends to stay indoors on a cold, misty afternoon, but the servant-girl's disruptive cleaning drives him from his room. He walks four miles to Wuthering Heights and arrives as snow begins to fall. The gate is chained, the door is barred, and Joseph refuses to help, telling Lockwood that only the “missis” is inside.

A coatless young man with a pitchfork finally leads Lockwood through the outbuildings into the main room. There Lockwood meets the young Mrs. Heathcliff, whose beauty contrasts with her cold, scornful manner. Lockwood awkwardly tries to make polite conversation, mistakes dead rabbits for pets, and offends her by assuming she should offer him tea.

Heathcliff returns from the storm and refuses Lockwood's request for a guide back to Thrushcross Grange. During tea, Lockwood attempts sociability and wrongly assumes the young woman is Heathcliff's wife. Heathcliff corrects him with evident bitterness, explaining that she is his daughter-in-law and that her husband, Heathcliff's son, is dead. Lockwood then wrongly supposes Hareton Earnshaw is her husband, provoking Hareton's anger before Heathcliff clarifies that Hareton is not his son.

As the snow worsens, Lockwood realizes he cannot safely return without guidance, but Heathcliff ignores the danger and sends Hareton to tend sheep. Joseph insults Mrs. Heathcliff, who frightens him by pretending to practice black magic. When Lockwood asks her for directions or help persuading Heathcliff to provide a guide, she says she cannot leave and has no authority over the household.

Heathcliff tells Lockwood that he does not keep accommodations for visitors and that, if Lockwood stays, he must share a bed with Hareton or Joseph. Insulted, Lockwood rushes outside, where no one will escort him despite Mrs. Heathcliff's brief expression of concern. After Lockwood seizes Joseph's lantern, Joseph sets the dogs on him; they knock him down, the lantern goes out, and Lockwood suffers a nosebleed while Heathcliff and Hareton laugh.

Zillah, the housekeeper, intervenes more practically than the others, scolding Hareton and pulling Lockwood into the kitchen. Heathcliff's amusement fades back into moroseness, and he orders Zillah to give Lockwood brandy. Sick, dizzy, and unable to leave, Lockwood is forced to accept lodging at Wuthering Heights for the night.