The gentle, welcoming smile on her face did not so much as flicker from its perch on her lovely lips. Galina's dark eyes were instantly riveted to the charming young Japanese man with a voice as smooth as glass, though obviously nowhere near so transparent. Her elegant hand gestured to the chair closest, a wordless indication that, of course, he was more than welcome to join their small party, and see it grow by at least one charismatic stranger.

And though her heart raced at the sight of the Japanese man she had passed earlier below deck, nothing of that too-genuine surprise showed on her face. Either at his appearance, or at his choice of words.

"Please,[i] do[/i] join us," Galina said graciously, the dulcet notes of the string quartet utterly unable to compete with the gracious beauty of her melodic voice. She nodded her head politely to the young man as he moved to join them at their table. There was a knowing look in his eyes that, truth be told, unnerved her for a moment - though she was far too much the consummate professional to allow her mask to slip.

"Introductions first, if we are to pass our time far more pleasantly tonight?" she continued blithely, despite the sudden certainty that this man knew [i]exactly[/i] who she was - even if she was at a complete disadvantage on the matter of his identity. But that was the nature of this mission aboard the [i]Empress[/i] after all, was it not?

Galina turned to the elder woman beside her with a smile. "This is one of my oldest and dearest of friends, Klara Antonova, and I am Galina Demidova . And I feel confident in speaking for us both, that it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir."

The younger woman lifted a crystal goblet of ice water to her lips, taking a slow sip as she looked over the edge to the well-dressed man beside them.

Arching one eyebrow curiously, that sweet smile returned as she set the goblet down once more. "And as for your choice of words, sir? I imagine you might best decide whether that was the precise word you wished to use. I would guess that your grasp of the English language is [i]far[/i] more impressive than, perhaps, your modesty might allow you to let on?"

The first stirrings of genuine misgiving squirmed uneasily in her gut, though her dark eyes never left their dinner guest's face. Now, what [i]were[/i] the odds? The odds that the first hint of their unknown contact would be a Japanese man? Here, aboard the [i]Empress of Japan? [/i] What would be the chances of such a happening, when the very man whose memory she could not be rid of, was himself a denizen of that island nation? 

Galina was never a great fan of "coincidence."