[Almost delicately, but extremely deliberately, Ben ignores the first part of this. He's seen enough people leaving to know that he's fortunate to get to talk to her, first, and he is happy for her.

Typically, there's not much besides the death toll of his own in his voice, though he is slightly more guarded than he might otherwise have been.]

If I do not know that, it would be through no fault of yours. Similarly, do you understand that I was considerably further outside of my own control than I would normally be at present?