In An Hotel

In 'In An Hotel' by Anton Chekhov, Madame Nashatyrin, the wife of a colonel, complains to the hotel-keeper about the scandalous behavior of Staff-Captain Kikin, who is staying in the hotel. She is outraged by the vulgarity of Kikin's language and the lewd stories he tells. The hotel-keeper sympathizes with Madame Nashatyrin but explains that Kikin owes him three months of rent and refuses to leave. Despite Kikin's disgraceful behavior, the hotel-keeper admits that he is a handsome, intelligent man when sober. Madame Nashatyrin is surprised to learn that Kikin is not married and begins to mull over this new information. The story ends with Madame Nashatyrin lost in thought as her daughters, Lilya and Mila, continue to sit at the window, blushing at Kikin's scandalous stories. Read in Enlgish, unabridged.