Alexei smiled at Ingrid, not only impressed with the way she seemed to be conducting herself, but her impression of his sister was spot on. He knew that from then on, since Russia was counting on them for an heir, they would be living in a fishbowl just as much as Pavel and Liz were. And like the Czarina, in spite of the men being the Romanovs by blood, the pressure was mostly on the women. Did he think that was fair? He supposed not, such standards had nearly taken Liz from her home, and sent Ingrid to Russia. When she released his hand, reclaimed it momentarily, pressing his lips to the top of it before releasing her so that they could begin their meal. And he could admit, even if it was only to himself, that the urge to do that was only PARTLY for show.<br/><br/>When he felt Liz's breath was by his ear, he nodded silently, agreeing with her sentiment completely. From everything that had happened today, he had a feeling that the Swedish Princess would be just what the Romanovs needed. What was left to discover was whether she would be everything *he* needed. Looking past the Czarina briefly, he could tell by the look in his kinsman's eyes that the man's wife was having some fun. Perfect. His lips curled up into a smirk, and before he could tease Pavel, his attention was drawn to the front of the table as old Doc Yelkin approached with what looked like their injured 'Cabin Boy.' Her apology just confirmed her identity.<br/><br/>"It seems our cabin boy cleans up rather nicely," Alexei commented, suspecting that Baba had a hand in this.<br/><br/>