] Ooh, I didn't recall that line! So.... her last letter to John would have been full of complaints about how paltry James' income would be and how stingy the Morlands are being, perhaps warning him that he could probably expect the same or less if he married Catherine?

Yes, that's exactly what I imagined. If Isabella is willing to talk about Mr. Morland not doing more directly to Catherine's face, what is she willing to say behind her back? She's made some rather unkind comments about others to Catherine and those were regarding people with whom she wasn't personally involved. I suspect that a person who wasn't giving Isabella what Isabella wanted would come in for even stronger language at greater length. ;-)

] But isn't he pinning his hopes on Catherine inheriting from the Allens?

Well, he seems to be. ;-) But I don't recall Isabella mentioning that and surely it would have slipped out somehow if she was thinking of it. ;-) (Her thoughts have a funny way of doing that, don't they?) ;-) Maybe I'm missing something though. Does she ever mention the Allens a la Brother John?

] Though, he does seem to think James was rich...

Hmmmm. As did Isabella. I suspect she still thinks his father is well off and that he's just being stingy. So much more comfortable than admitting to herself that she went to all the trouble to chase after James only to learn that he wasn't as rich as she thought he was. ;-)