Relieved at not having to pretend not to see anything out of the ordinary while standing in the Czar's bedroom with a naked Czar and Czarina in bed and the whole place smelling of sex, Nikolai addressed his thanks through the door and went in search of Alexei.<br/><br/>"My lord," he said, walking up to Alexei as the younger man stood surveying the banquet hall. "The Czar and Czarina will be with us soon."<br/><br/>"Now, just so Baba doesn't beat me about the head because I don't know and can't tell her, what do you think of Princess Ingrid?" Nikolai asked, pulling out a chair from a table, grimacing slightly as he sat down. His left knee had been wounded on a campaign with Alexei several years ago, and it had never healed properly, leaving Nikolai feeling his age for the first time.