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“ Ah ! you must suit your frock to his flowers , Gladys . ” “ That would be a premature surrender . ” “ Romantic art begins with its climax . ” “ I must keep an opportunity for retreat . ” “ In the Parthian manner ? ” “ They found safety in the desert . I could not do that . ” “ Women are not always allowed a choice , ” he answered , but hardly had he finished the sentence before from the far end of the conservatory came a stifled groan , followed by the dull sound of a heavy fall . Everybody started up . The duchess stood motionless in horror . And with fear in his eyes , Lord Henry rushed through the flapping palms to find Dorian Gray lying face downwards on the tiled floor in a deathlike swoon . He was carried at once into the blue drawing - room and laid upon one of the sofas . After a short time , he came to himself and looked round with a dazed expression . “ What has happened ? ” he asked . “ Oh ! I remember . Am I safe here , Harry ? ” He began to tremble . “ My dear Dorian , ” answered Lord Henry , “ you merely fainted . That was all . You must have overtired yourself . You had better not come down to dinner . I will take your place . ” “ No , I will come down , ” he said , struggling to his feet . “ I would rather come down . I must not be alone . ” He went to his room and dressed . There was a wild recklessness of gaiety in his manner as he sat at table , but now and then a thrill of terror ran through him when he remembered that , pressed against the window of the conservatory , like a white handkerchief , he had seen the face of James Vane watching him . CHAPTER XVIII . The next day he did not leave the house , and , indeed , spent most of the time in his own room , sick with a wild terror of dying , and yet indifferent to life itself . The consciousness of being hunted , snared , tracked down , had begun to dominate him . If the tapestry did but tremble in the wind , he shook . The dead leaves that were blown against the leaded panes seemed to him like his own wasted resolutions and wild regrets . When he closed his eyes , he saw again the sailor’s face peering through the mist - stained glass , and horror seemed once more to lay its hand upon his heart . But perhaps it had been only his fancy that had called vengeance out of the night and set the hideous shapes of punishment before him . Actual life was chaos , but there was something terribly logical in the imagination . It was the imagination that set remorse to dog the feet of sin . It was the imagination that made each crime bear its misshapen brood . In the common world of fact the wicked were not punished , nor the good rewarded . Success was given to the strong , failure thrust upon the weak . That was all . Besides , had any stranger been prowling round the house , he would have been seen by the servants or the keepers . Had any foot - marks been found on the flower - beds , the gardeners would have reported it . Yes , it had been merely fancy . Sibyl Vane’s brother had not come back to kill him . He had sailed away in his ship to founder in some winter sea . From him , at any rate , he was safe . Why , the man did not know who he was , could not know who he was . The mask of youth had saved him .
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