Sayers' letters 3

Dorothy met Eric Whelpton, who had served in the War, during her time working at Blackwell's, and fell in love with him. He was fond of her but did not return her feelings. He was a sophisticated young man who had a busy romantic life. Dorothy was not very experienced in relationships with men. The women undergraduates at Somerville were chaperoned, almost like Victorian girls. Dorothy did not know much about men and had noone in the college to advise her. Older women dons were usually spinsters who had dedicated their lives to learning. They did not know how to help younger women who had difficulties in mingling with men. Dorothy liked to flirt, but she did not meet many congenial men, and when she fell in love, she was at sea. Then, Blackwell's changed over to publishing academic books and she decided to leave. Whelpton had taken a job in France and set up an agency for exchange students, bringing boys from England to France and vice versa. He invited Dorothy to work as his secretary. She told her parents that she would like a complete change. She assured them that her relationship with Whelpton would be completely proper, as they would be living in a provincial, old fashioned part of France. She kept in touch with her parents by letter, telling them of her ongoing friendship with Eric. She read a lot of detective stories, as her work was not all that busy.