---
John did not smile, though the picture was a sharp one. He let the image pass through him and leave a scratch on its way. He found his voice at last, not to calm Fizz, but to set one stone where it belonged.
"I do not recognise that man as my father."
He said the sentence evenly, like a man measuring wood for a coffin. John continued, "He told me never to reveal that I am his son with a commoner woman. He said the house name is not for me. That is why I never used the name White, since he threw me out of his house. My name is John, only John."
Fizz's bright rage bent at the edges and folded into a smaller shape. The glow around him softened the way coals do when a wind turns gentle. His voice lost its easy bounce. He asked,
"What about your mother? Is she alive?"
