Aislynn would have run back to her room if it weren't for her injuries. She had never felt emotions this strong before, from Eryk or from herself. She could feel the gambit of his emotions now: confusion when she left, decisiveness overlaid with happiness, anxiety and then happiness again. She could only imagine the thoughts Eryk had to go along with these emotions, but she was pretty sure that he was not going to take her advice.
She knew that he couldn't go ahead with his little plan unless she agreed, so she’d just have to make sure that she didn't say or do anything that could be construed as agreement. But she had to be careful. She did have to work with him, and live with him, after all. She couldn't afford to make his life miserable by not agreeing to marry him, just as she couldn't afford to make his life miserable by saying yes.
And what about Byron? The captain hadn’t said anything, but she knew that he was starting to have feelings for her too. If Aislynn was honest with herself, she had to admit that a match with Byron would be more suited to her temperament and interests, but she wasn’t interested in marrying anyone. This was definitely a mess. Maybe Marja would have some ideas to help.