"But you still haven't paid me," Trevian answered, unintimidated. Really, he had principles -- and he refused to give up those principles just because someone was threatening him!
It was the Treyburn blood, likely. Still, he could give the man a little taste...
"How about how I recognized you? A noble with whom I am unfamiliar -- rare, but possible. Too old to be an uninitiated son, too young to be an officer of sufficient rank to attend. You were not drunk when you came into this room, but you have been drinking since you arrived -- and I assumed something had happened to anger you while you were here, which you confirmed. It is interesting you responded to my lure by naming the Grand Duchess over the Grand Duke... Unlike the Duke, she does not shape policy, and so, I thought, it must be something personal. The fact you kept referring to the Grand Duke as her husband -- and with such venom! -- confirmed as much...and something more. You look on her as a woman -- and her husband an obstacle. You've no idea how society, polite or otherwise, views the Grand Duchess, which meant you were either a foreigner or someone who travels in...very different circles. And you yourself gave me the last piece: for a man so unfamiliar with the Grand Duchess and the rumors pertaining to her person, you seemed to take for granted the fact she had once had a lover. In fact, you were more concerned about her feelings and her appearance. It suggest you knew about the affair -- but as a participant, rather than a blackmailer.
"So, here we have a man who came to the ball who does not belong. He appears to care deeply for the Grand Duchess, but he is inexplicably angry with her and the fact she has a husband. And he is not surprised to learn she is rumored to have had an affair. I assume you tried to speak to her, and she refused your advances? Nevermind, that's not important. What is important is that there is but one man who fits each and every one of those statements: Dekka Blade."
His eyes were shining in triumphant humor.
"If it's any consolation, I believe she truly must have loved you...or not even I, with all of my friends, would have ever learned of your trysts."