Liz bit her bottom lip hard to keep from laughing out loud at Ingrid's description of Brogin, wanting nothing more than to get up and hug the girl tightly.  Yes..yes, she would be a very good addition to the family and from the look of her slightly disheveled state, had no doubt that in at least one aspect of their marriage that her and Alexei would get along famously.<br/><br/>Warm brown eyes regarded the beautiful princess, and Liz gave her a wink and mischievous smile before settling her gaze back out across the room to make eye contact with each one of the traitorous louts that had tried to separate her  from her family.  She didn't bother to keep the smug expression off of her face, wanting all of them to know that they had failed and watch their faces when they realized that their plot had indeed backfired on them.<br/><br/>She picked up her glass and grabbed one of the knives to hit against the side of it, a loud 'ping, ping, ping' sound reverberated off of the fine crystal as she gathered everyone's attention.  "Good evening everyone."  Liz announced elegantly to the group that had assembled.  "If you would all be so kind as to take your seats, we shall be able to get this wonderful celebratory dinner under way.  It's not often that a family is able to welcome such a beautiful and sweet addition into the fold, but we are fortunate enough to be able to do just that this evening."  Her voice was sweet and eloquent as she spoke, but her eyes told a different story, each person in the room receiving a good solid glare from the Czarina that belied the sweetness in her voice.  "Also, I believe everyone should thank our beloved Czar for taking the time out of his busy schedule to see to the seating arrangements himself an coming up with a most wonderful and innovative choice."  Liz looked at her husband and smiled, bowing ever so slightly and glanced at Ingrid again to offer the beautiful blond a warm reassuring smile.  For being tossed in to swim with the sharks the young woman was doing exceptionally well and Liz was quite pleased with her 'pluck'.