Okay, so there is a second nerd House, and it's the big fancy upper-crust one. He probably kept the Fifth in the divorce. Speculation, sure, but it's more than he's had to go on until now.

That last bit startles a little laugh from him, as though she's said something genuinely bold.

"Are there a lot of Johns in the Empire?" That would be hilarious, honestly. It feels like a boring name, which makes the pile-up of titles even better. "I don't think I caught yours."

He really ought to tell her, right? Is it funnier if he doesn't tell her, and waits to see how long until she kicks down his door in incredulity? But then Cam and Pal get time to put a spin on things, paint him a liar for not being upfront. That still strikes him as kind of unfair. Some things are just too weird to be upfront about.

And she'd probably look at him with that same frozen, cornered-rabbit politeness they wore. No. Better to have it off like a band-aid.

"I'll trade you for it: this is where I have a confession to make." His tone goes drawn-out and hedging, like this is going to get awkward. "It was a trick question. I'm not actually Fifth."