chime & impropriety

Quotations:

Complete Works of Virginia Woolf: The Voyage Out

A bell chimed behind them, and Richard raised his head.

It took him a moment to recover from the impropriety of having snored, and possibly grunted, before a young lady.

Definitions:

chime:

1. to ring; 

2. to show the time by making a ringing sound;

impropriety:

behaviour or actions that are dishonest, morally wrong or not appropriate for a person in a position of responsibility;