comes right before HT's demonstration of his knowledge of muslins, which is generally attributed to women. Guess excellence on that front is fairly divided, too!

And I agree with Tim - in spite of Catherine's naivete, somehow she's picking up on the fact that she needn't take everything that HT says seriously, and feels free enough to banter with him. Wonder why this doesn't come through with Isabella Thorpe? For instance, we're told in Chapter 5 that "...she was not experienced enough in the finesse of love, or the duties of friendship, to know when delicate raillery was properly called for, or when a confidence should be forced." I find it interesting that her ability to read and respond to the two of them differs so much.