"Shall we have our picnic outside again, Harriet, now we have this lovely snow to enjoy?  We could have a table and chairs, if you don't want to squat down in the snow"

"You really are insane aren't you Gwendoline?  I mean not just a little off the rails, but positively psychotic!"

"Does that mean, No, Harry?"

"It means, Yes.  I love the idea!"

Half an hour later the two naked girls their bodies glowing pink in the cold, sat opposite each other toasting each other in hot mulled wine, after having first had a vigorous work-out in Gwen's private gym to get themslves totally in shape.

Jenkins stood beside the table, at the ready, wondering what Gwendoline's widowed mother would think of her if she could only see her darling daughter now!  Just as well, the poor lady was in the South of France with Harriet's Aunt.  He had no doubt that the headstrong young Countess would not in any way moderate her behaviour, even if her mother were here!

"We're ready for the soup, Jenkins.  Try not to spill any on your way over"

Both girls cackled hysterically as he went back to the house to comply with this request.

The soup was still piping hot when it arrived.

"Thanks, Jenkins - you really are a marvel" said Gwendoline.  "I may -  just may -  have another nice kiss for you soon!"

"Thank you, your ladyship.  That would be most gratifying!"

The fish course was Dover Sole, washed down with one of the cellar's finest German wines.  Gwen congratulated Jenkins on having managed to keep the wine chilled on his way over and once again both girls writhed in hepless laughter at yet another of Gwen's idiotic jokes..

With the beef Bourgignon, yet another bottle of vintage Burgundy was sacrificed.  Jenkins retired into the house for a while.  He was freezing cold and quite astonished at the way neither young lady showed any sign of distress, despite their nudity and the sub-zero temperature. He mentally took his hat off to them both.

 The girls took advantage of Jenkins's absence to move their chairs round so they could be side by side. In this position of close proximity they shared their food and wine in what had lately become their favourite intimate way.  They moved guiltily and hastily back when they saw the faithful Jenkins coming over to serve the sweet, which was washed down with a particuarly good Sauternes.

Coffee and some more of Gwen's heavenly Cognac followed and afterwards both leaned back in relaxed satisfaction.  Gwen leant back too far and her chair gave way behind her.   She collapsed shrieking with laughter into the snow.

Harriet was on top of her in a flash, but Gwen wriggled sinuously out from under her and both girls rolled around ending up like a couple of snowmen (or snow-women) themselves, before rising to their feet as Jenkins came to take the things back into the house.  He solemnly took all the contents of the table, piled onto a tray, back into the Mansion.  He might just as well have been taking it from the dining room back  to the kitchen, for all his  faultlessly professional demeanour betrayed.  They remained standing as he returned, with  a couple of other servants, to take the table and chairs back inside.

They tried to look serious, but failed totally and followed him back shaking with laughter and supporting each other as they staggered from side to side.  It had been a wonderful meal but only a  prodigious amount of fine wine and old  brandy had kept them from freezing.  Even as they approached the house the insane mood which had sustained them,  started to dissipate and cold sobriety took over.

When they got into the warmth, it was borne in on them, just how very cold  indeed they were.  The adrenalin and alcohol had suddenly lost their power to keep them warm.  They stood in front of the fire and shivered.  Gwen looked at Harry and saw that she was very very pale and ready to lose consciousness.  She looked so awfully ill suddenly  and a pang of guilt shot through her.

"Let's go upstairs and get under those blankets, Gwen.  I think I'm about to die!"

"Good idea!  You do occasionally come up with them, Harry.   Race you upstairs!"

Gwendoline was first to speed into her bedroom and leapt into bed, followed by the shivering, staggering  Harriet, who had to be helped under the sheet by a, by now,  deeply worried Gwen.

"Come up close darling Harry" With these words, Gwendoline massaged her friend's arms and breathed over her frozen face.  She frantically rubbed herself up and down against Harriet's body to generate heat by friction.  By degrees the girl's shivering eased and the warmth seeped back into her body.

It was half an hour before either girl felt anything like warm and even longer than that before they felt comfortable.  Once they were fully restored, they drew apart and prepared to talk.

"That was really wild, Gwendoline!  I still can't believe we actually did anything so fucking gloriously stupidly mad!  But I'm so glad we did!  What ever did I do before I met you?  And how could I ever live without you now I have?"

"Welcome back to the land of the living, my pet!  You had me totally shit-scared for a while.  It was great, though, wasn't it?  Even so my angel-faced red-haired darling,  we'd better not do it again for a couple of days!"

With returning warmth, a deep languor stole over both girls and they fell asleep, even though it was scarcely four in the afternoon.  Harriet was the first to awake and it was already dark.  She put her hand once again on Gwen's hard stomach, feeling its rising and falling.  She was reassured by that sweet, lovely proximity and lay like that for some time before slipping into sleep again, her mind full of happy thoughts.  She dreamt of Gwen. In her dream, she could see  that her golden haired friend was skipping nimbly and  barefoot down a rocky,  sun-scorched hillside towards her.  She was  deeply sun-tanned, covered in dust,  and utterly naked - as ever.   She heard herself cry out to this vision to go back, because she was in terrible danger and woke up feeling afraid - of what? she asked herself, and fell deeply and peacefully asleep again.

Both girls finally emerged from sleep in the evening, just after seven.

"Harry, let's go down and get Jenkins to rustle up a bit of supper for us.  We must get up and do something, or we won't sleep properly tonight.  Do you want to dress for dinner, darling?  Put on something nice.  Wear one of those lovely dresses you brought with you- go on, if you like - I've a stunning off-the-shoulder gown of my own - what do you say, sweetheart?"

"Thanks Gwen.  I like what we're wearing now!  I never want to wear anything else.  Wouldn't it be glorious to spend a whole year totally nude?"

"Heavenly!  Fat chance of that for me, or you!  Mind you we've got the Lady Masons's general meeting in early March. That's not too far away now!"

Neither of these two had attended  many of the steering group meetings.  Gwen had been too busy and too grief-stricken and Harry had been too lazy.  They would both be at the general meeting, though.  This was to be held at Gwen's house.  They would have a lot of nude company on that day!