THE DARKEST CURSE & THE PUREST OF MAGIC

CHAPTER 4 - DORIAN'S SOUL ON THE DEVIL'S ALTAR

Late spring, 1895

"I want to see it." lord Wotton called out and rised to his feet, walking over to Basil who was finishing Dorian's portrait.

"No! I am not done, Henry. The deal was to sit here and be quiet." the painter reminded him resolutely.

"Even I cannot see it." Dorian explained with an amused smirk playing on his lips.

Aileen was also excited to finally look at the picture and so when the three gentlemen took their leave, she went straight to the painting canvas covered by a white cloth. She pulled it up just enough to see the stunning portrait of a beautiful young man and she almost gasped. It was like Dorian himself was staring back at her from the canvas, Mr. Hallward truly had created a great piece of art.

She kept looking at the familiar face for another minute before she let the cloth fall back down, feeling certain that Dorian would be very pleased.

"Good evening, Mr. Hallward." Aileen greeted the man with a quick curtsy when he had returned alone. "Dorian and lord Wotton are not coming yet?"

"I am afraid they are not, my dear. I came this soon because I still need to work on the background for the portrait." Basil informed her brusquely, then tilted his head slightly to one side and quirked an eyebrow at her, "Shouldn't you already be off to bed now? It is quite late."

Aileen blushed a little bit and hung her head low, "You are very right, Mr. Hallward. But I could not afford to miss the first moment you will show the picture to us."

Basil found the girl's excitement very amusing so he gave her a cordial smile and winked at her playfully. "Alright then, I am not going to tell anyone."

When the other two gentlemen returned, Aileen was already sleeping in not a very comfortable position in the nearby chair. Their loud voices woke her up from the light slumber and she blinked several times to get accustomed to the brightness of the hall.

"So, Basil, are you done with that doodle yet?" lord Wotton inquired, his lips curled into a smug smile.

"I am, Henry." Basil replied calmly. "Dorian, would you please come here and look at that doodle I have been working on for the past few weeks?"

Dorian stepped closer and paused, gawking at the portrait of himself and it seemed like he just ran out of words. Because no words could describe Basil's perfect craft of the fine art.

"Say something, young man, or you will hurt his feelings." lord Wotton nudged Dorian's back in a friendly manner.

"Basil, it's really.." Dorian promptly digged in his mind for the right description.

"Magnificent." a tiny child's voice added for him.

All three men turned around in unison to see the girl, still slightly drowsy, gazing at the Dorian's portrayal with her sparkling eyes which reflected pure admiration and thrill.

"At least someone here is able to appreciate my work enough." Basil offered her a genuine, amiable smile.

"I suppose it's well past your bedtime, child." lord Wotton addressed her with a scolding voice and waved his hand dismissively. "Off to bed with you, lass!"

Aileen swung her eyes from the lord to Dorian who only nodded in agreement so she lowered her head and curtsied, bidding all of them good night.

Obediently, she made her way out of the hall and to her room. However, when she disappeared from their sight in the darkness of the long and gloomy corridor, her ears picked up on their ongoing discussion and her steps halted. She turned around and pressed her petite form to a wall, moving slowly and carefully to the corridor's open end where she could easily spy on them. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to see Dorian from this spot because he remained hidden behind the portrait. But she watched lord Wotton to light his tobacco pipe while Mr. Hallward was cleaning his painting supplies and stuff.