Susanna entices the lieutenant to supper, then relieves him of the IOUs, but after spending the night with Sokolsky sends him back empty handed.
Furious Kryukov resolves to visit Susanna and recover the debt himself, but he likewise is seduced and returns unpaid.
A week later Sokolsky departs to return to his fiancée, having borrowed money from his cousin for his own marriage.
Left alone Kryukov waits for another week then cannot resist visiting Susanna again, only to find several men being entertained by her, including Sokolsky who has seemingly forgotten about his fiancée.
[1][2] The picture of free-spirited and seductive distillery owner Susanna, and her power over men, was controversial both in Chekhov's time and since, producing varying responses in Chekhov's circle, among critics and also from translators.