"Country Society."

At a party hosted by his wife, a bored and cynical husband becomes charmed by a spirited young lady.

At the close of the evening, his wife is disappointed in her efforts at social advancement, while he is filled with a new appreciation of life.

In Town & Country (October 1952), Housewife (November 1952), The Daffodil Sky (1955), Seven by Five/The Best of H.E. Bates (1963), A Month by the Lake & Other Stories (1987).