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“ I can’t explain it to you , Basil , but I must never sit to you again . There is something fatal about a portrait . It has a life of its own . I will come and have tea with you . That will be just as pleasant . ” “ Pleasanter for you , I am afraid , ” murmured Hallward regretfully . “ And now good - bye . I am sorry you won’t let me look at the picture once again . But that can’t be helped . I quite understand what you feel about it . ” As he left the room , Dorian Gray smiled to himself . Poor Basil ! How little he knew of the true reason ! And how strange it was that , instead of having been forced to reveal his own secret , he had succeeded , almost by chance , in wresting a secret from his friend ! How much that strange confession explained to him ! The painter’s absurd fits of jealousy , his wild devotion , his extravagant panegyrics , his curious reticences — he understood them all now , and he felt sorry . There seemed to him to be something tragic in a friendship so coloured by romance . He sighed and touched the bell . The portrait must be hidden away at all costs . He could not run such a risk of discovery again . It had been mad of him to have allowed the thing to remain , even for an hour , in a room to which any of his friends had access . CHAPTER X . When his servant entered , he looked at him steadfastly and wondered if he had thought of peering behind the screen . The man was quite impassive and waited for his orders . Dorian lit a cigarette and walked over to the glass and glanced into it . He could see the reflection of Victor’s face perfectly . It was like a placid mask of servility . There was nothing to be afraid of , there . Yet he thought it best to be on his guard . Speaking very slowly , he told him to tell the house - keeper that he wanted to see her , and then to go to the frame - maker and ask him to send two of his men round at once . It seemed to him that as the man left the room his eyes wandered in the direction of the screen . Or was that merely his own fancy ? After a few moments , in her black silk dress , with old - fashioned thread mittens on her wrinkled hands , Mrs . Leaf bustled into the library . He asked her for the key of the schoolroom . “ The old schoolroom , Mr . Dorian ? ” she exclaimed . “ Why , it is full of dust . I must get it arranged and put straight before you go into it . It is not fit for you to see , sir . It is not , indeed . ” “ I don’t want it put straight , Leaf . I only want the key . ” “ Well , sir , you’ll be covered with cobwebs if you go into it . Why , it hasn’t been opened for nearly five years — not since his lordship died . ”
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