We don't ever see Henry and Eleanor actually interact in these chapters, but I think much can be discerned from their relationship by how Henry speaks of his sister.

He speaks of her most often in the conversation with Mrs. Allen in which he says that he is often trusted by his sister in the choice of a gown and has even bought one for her the other day! I know that I would certainly not trust my brother to do the same! But this shows the extent of the siblings' ease with each other, the knowledge of their tastes, which can only come from close interaction. The fact that Henry knows Eleanor’s views on the extreme usefulness of muslin also bears this out. (There’s a fascinating discussion on muslin use at L&T; if you haven’t been over there, check it out. Louise has posted fashion plates and everything.)

We see them together in Ch. 8 at a dance, and though we do not witness any conversation between them, when they are first spotted Catherine observes that Eleanor “leant on his arm.” I think this also betokens the closeness of the relationship. We know that James Morland and John Thorpe each abandoned their sisters without compunction at the dance!

So, in this first week’s chapters, we see three very different sibling relationships: the closeness of the Tilneys, the careless affection of the Morlands, and the casual cruelty of the Thorpes. We’ll see whether these suppositions are strengthened or modified next week! ;-)