"Offer? What offer?" Edward roared, his voice echoing through the grand hall.
Vyan's smile twisted into a smirk. "Won't you ask me to take a seat first? I am, after all, a grand duke, and you are…" he shrugged, dismissing Edward like he was nothing more than an insignificant bug, "a mere marquess."
Edward ground his teeth, his fury barely contained. "Take a seat, then. Now, what is it that you want to offer me?"
"Since you seem eager," Vyan said, crossing one leg over the other with infuriating nonchalance, "I will get straight to the point."
He paused for dramatic effect before delivering his bombshell, "I will help you pay off your debts to Count Clipton."
Edward's eyes blazed with rage. "I knew you were behind it all," he spat.
Vyan chuckled, the sound of it dark and mocking. "Yes, but how will you prove it? Even your daughter has failed to gather any evidence against me. It's just your word against mine."
