I found a passage in Chapter 5 where Isabella says (in free indirect speech) She liked him the better for being a clergyman, “for she must confess herself very partial to the profession”; and something like a sigh escaped her as she said it. You are probably right that she is referring to James, but neither I nor Catherine could understand it, so I suppose that makes me clueless with regards to interpersonal relationships. James profusely praises Isabella to Catherine, which convinces me that he is in love with her. Isabella could not have been blind to such attention. Was it possible that Catherine could betray Isabella’s confidence by mentioning the romance to her parents?