Verity didn't say anything for a moment, her excitement was slipping as her gut twisted uncomfortably. She swallowed a moment, thinking about her contact with Fred the other day. Quickly she put it out of her mind. "George was killed very early in the war, sir," she said, her voice quiet. "No one has heard from Fred since the fire. Some think that he may have been in the shop." The only thing she could comfort herself with was the knowledge that Fred was okay. She'd talked to him. He was alive. It just barely kept the tears from her eyes though.