] ] A footnote in my copy of NA says Alice was probably Eleanor's maid. Does this sound reasonable to you?

My copy had no footnote, so this is news to me, but...

] My edition of NA has a similar footnote. However, even when I read that, I thought it far more likely that this 'Alice' was the daughter of the home where they would be visiting than Eleanor's maid.

...that is what I thought also.

] On the other hand, the fact that Eleanor calls her by her Christian name and not Miss Longtown or some formal title maybe does mean that it is a person of lesser status. And we do know that Eleanor has her own lady's maid who has also met Catherine during the visit to Northanger.

In view of this information which sounds correct to me, could it be that "Alice" is Eleanor's maid who is accompanying her, (help my failing memory here) and since Catherine's journey is two (?) days that when Catherine arrives home, Eleanor and her maid will be at the other estate . Catherine could then send the note to the maid. This scenerio would not involve another "friend" and explain the use of the name "Alice". It is late and my brain may be softening, so this might not make any sense. But I tried.

Yours, &c
Linda