One afternoon, one month later, Dorian Gray sat in a comfortable chair. He was in the library of Lord Henry’s house. The house was in Mayfair. The room was very beautiful. The walls were made of dark oak.
There were silk rugs on the floor. On a small table, there was a small statue. Next to it was an old book. There were blue jars and flowers on the shelf above the fireplace. The light of the summer day came through the window.
Lord Henry was not there yet. Lord Henry was always late. He believed that being on time was a waste of time. Dorian felt a little angry. He looked at the pages of a book. He heard the clock on the wall. He wanted to leave.
Finally, Dorian heard a step outside. The door opened. "You are very late, Harry!" Dorian said.
"I am not Harry, Mr. Gray," a woman’s voice answered.
Dorian looked around quickly. He stood up. "I am sorry," Dorian said. "I thought you were Lord Henry."
"You thought I was my husband," the woman said. "I am his wife. I must introduce myself. I know you from your photographs. My husband has eighteen of them."
"Eighteen, Lady Henry?" Dorian asked.
"Yes, eighteen," Lady Henry said. "I saw you with him at the opera, too." She laughed in a nervous way. She had blue eyes and her hair was messy. Her clothes looked like she put them on in a hurry. She was often in love, but no one loved her back. Her name was Victoria. She loved going to church.
"We were at the opera to hear Wagner," Dorian said.
"Yes, I love Wagner’s music," Lady Henry said. "The music is very loud. So, people can talk and no one hears them. Do you agree, Mr. Gray?"
Lady Henry laughed again. She played with a long knife for cutting paper. Dorian smiled and shook his head. "I do not agree," Dorian said. "I never talk during good music."
"Ah! That is what Harry says," Lady Henry said. "I always hear my husband’s ideas from his friends. But I do like good music. I am just afraid of it. It makes me feel too romantic."
Lady Henry continued talking. "I love pianists. You must come to my parties. I do not have expensive flowers to make the room look nice, so I invite famous people from other countries instead. But here is Harry!"
Lord Henry came into the room. "Harry, I came to ask you something," Lady Henry said. "But I forget what it was. I found Mr. Gray here. We had a nice talk about music. Good-bye, Harry. Good-bye, Mr. Gray."
Lady Henry left the room. She looked like a bird that was out in the rain. She left a sweet smell in the air. Lord Henry sat on the sofa. He lit a cigarette.
"Never marry a woman with yellow hair, Dorian," Lord Henry said.
"Why, Harry?" Dorian asked.
"Because they are too sentimental," Lord Henry said. "Never marry at all. Men marry because they are tired. Women marry because they are curious. Both are disappointed."
"I do not think I will marry," Dorian said. "I am too much in love. I am doing what you told me to do. I follow all your ideas."
"Who do you love?" Lord Henry asked after a short time.
"I love an actress," Dorian said. He turned red.
Lord Henry shrugged. "That is not very interesting," Lord Henry said.
"You would think it is interesting if you saw her," Dorian said.
"Who is she?" Lord Henry asked.
"Her name is Sibyl Vane," Dorian said.
"I never heard of her," Lord Henry said.
"No one knows her yet," Dorian said. "But they will. She is a genius."
"My dear boy, women are never geniuses," Lord Henry said. "Women are decorative. They never have anything important to say. But they say it in a pretty way. Tell me, how long have you known her?"
"I have known her for three weeks," Dorian said.
"Where did you meet her?" Lord Henry asked.
"I will tell you, Harry," Dorian said. "But you must be kind. You made me want to know everything about life. After I met you, I wanted to see the world. One night, I went out to find an adventure. I walked into a poor part of London."
Dorian continued his story. "I found a small, ugly theatre. A large man stood at the door. He wore a dirty shirt with a big diamond. He asked me to buy a ticket for a private box. I paid him. I do not know why I did it. But it led to the greatest romance of my life."
"Do not say this is the greatest romance of your life," Lord Henry said. "Say it is your first romance. You will always be in love."
"Do you think I am a shallow person?" Dorian asked angrily.
"No," Lord Henry said. "I think you are deep. People who love only once are the shallow people. Loyalty is just a lack of imagination. Please, tell me more of your story."
"I sat in a small, dirty box," Dorian said. "The theatre was ugly. It looked like a cheap wedding cake. People were eating nuts and drinking ginger-beer. I felt sad. Then I looked at the play-bill. What do you think the play was, Harry?"
"Some terrible old play, I suppose," Lord Henry said. "Old plays are not good enough for us now."
"This play was good enough for us," Dorian said. "It was Romeo and Juliet. "I did not like the idea of Shakespeare in a dirty place. But I waited. The actors were not good. Romeo was a fat, old man. But then I saw Juliet! Harry, she was only seventeen. She was the most beautiful girl I ever saw."
Dorian’s eyes filled with tears. "Her voice was wonderful. It sounded like music. I love her, Harry. Every night I go to see her act. One night she is one character. The next night she is another character. She is not like ordinary women. Ordinary women are boring. But an actress is different!"
"I have loved many actresses, Dorian," Lord Henry said.
"I wish I had not told you about her," Dorian said.
"You had to tell me," Lord Henry said. "You will always tell me everything. Is Sibyl yours yet?"
Dorian stood up. His face was red. "Harry! Sibyl is sacred!"
"Only sacred things are worth touching," Lord Henry said. "But why are you angry? She will belong to you one day. Do you at least know her?"
"Of course I know her," Dorian said. "The man at the theatre offered to introduce me. I was angry at him. I told him Juliet died hundreds of years ago. He thought I was crazy."
"I am not surprised," Lord Henry said.
"The next night, I went back," Dorian said. "The man was very polite to me. He loved Shakespeare. He told me he lost all his money because of Shakespeare."
"That is a good way to lose money," Lord Henry said. "But when did you speak to Sibyl?"
"The third night," Dorian said. "I went behind the stage. She was so shy and gentle. She is like a child. She does not know how powerful she is. She called me 'Prince Charming'."
"She knows how to give compliments," Lord Henry said.
"You do not understand her," Dorian said. "She knows nothing about real life. She lives with her mother. Her mother is a tired woman. Sibyl is the only thing I care about. She is divine."
"Is that why you do not eat dinner with me now?" Lord Henry asked.
"We eat lunch together every day," Dorian said. "But I must go to see Sibyl act every night. I need to be near her."
"Can you eat dinner with me tonight?" Lord Henry asked.
"No," Dorian said. "Tonight she is a character named Imogen. Tomorrow she is Juliet."
"When is she Sibyl?" Lord Henry asked.
"Never," Dorian said.
"I congratulate you," Lord Henry said.
"You are being mean!" Dorian cried. "I love her. I want you and Basil Hallward to come with me. You must see her act. We must help her leave that small theatre. I will make her famous."
"What night shall we go?" Lord Henry asked.
"Let us go tomorrow," Dorian said. "She plays Juliet tomorrow."
"Very well," Lord Henry said. "We will meet at eight o'clock. I will tell Basil."
"Please, let’s meet at half-past six," Dorian said. "We must be there for the first act. I have not seen Basil for a week. He gives me too much good advice."
Lord Henry smiled. "People give away what they need for themselves," he said. "Basil is a good man. But he is a bit boring. He puts all his talent into his paintings. He has nothing left for his life."
"Maybe that is true," Dorian said. "Now I must go. Imogen is waiting for me. Do not forget about tomorrow. Good-bye."
Dorian left the room. Lord Henry began to think. He was very interested in Dorian. He liked to study people. He thought of life like a science experiment. He wanted to see how Dorian changed.
Lord Henry felt happy. He knew his words changed Dorian. He felt like he created this new Dorian. Dorian was living a life of pleasure. He was young and beautiful. Lord Henry wanted to watch him.
Lord Henry thought about the soul and the body. He thought they were a mystery. He thought that psychology was very interesting. He wanted to use the scientific method to study Dorian's feelings.
Dorian’s love for Sibyl was a strange thing. Lord Henry thought Dorian was curious about new experiences. Sometimes, we think we are studying other people, but we are really studying ourselves.
Lord Henry sat and dreamed. His servant came into the room. The servant told Lord Henry it was time to dress for dinner. Lord Henry looked out at the sunset. The sky was a soft red color. He thought about Dorian’s life. He wondered how it would end.
When Lord Henry came home late that night, he saw a telegram. It was from Dorian. The message said that Dorian was engaged to marry Sibyl.