The English Way of Death.

Chapter Two: Festival.

Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the Sailor Moon or a few of the other characters (I'll explain that in a chapter or two).

Thursday, the first full day that Michiru and Hotaru had spent in England, went by pretty much uneventfully.

They woke up early that morning, showered, dressed, and then decided to order from room service so they could get as much practice in as possible before going sightseeing that afternoon.

After nearly 5 hours of practicing with their violins, including a few songs that Michiru had written for both of them for the festival, they broke for lunch before they went for a walk around the town.

Causton was a pleasant little town that was ringed by several villages in an area called Midsomer. There were a fair number of little shops here and there, as well as a few department stores like Mark's and Spencer where they each bought a new dress for the festival tomorrow.

They both spoke English fairly well, but a lot of the accents the people had, Newcastle, Yorkshire, Welsh, etc, really threw them both. Minako had warned them about this, since she had lived in England for a while, but it was still a steep learning curve.

Michiru picked up some artist supplies, while Hotaru bought a few guidebooks and maps for the area. She even found an antique lamp that caught her fancy, and Michiru arranged for it to be shipped back to their home in Tokyo.

After they had their afternoon tea, they went back to their hotel. Michiru spent a bit of time sketching the scenery from their window, while Hotaru uploaded the images from the digital camera into their laptop. After that they took a brief nap.

After a pleasant dinner in one of the hotel restaurants, where they made the acquaintance of a charming Spanish couple and their daughter, all of whom were participants in the festival, they returned to their room to check their email before retiring for the evening.

There was some good news from Setsuna. She had managed to wrap things up at her work, and would be joining them tomorrow evening at the earliest, Saturday morning at the latest.

"That's a relief. I was worried that she'd miss the whole thing." Michiru remarked.

"Me too. Hey! There's a message from Haruka-papa here as well!" Hotaru said cheerfully as she clicked on it.

"Um, Hotaru, it was sent to me marked 'private'. I think you might want to…" Michiru tried to warn her, but it was too late. The message from Haruka turned out to be very intimate, and intended for Michiru. Hotaru's face went red like a spotlight.

"I, ah, I'll be in the next suite." Hotaru muttered as she backed away from the laptop and nearly bolted into the adjoining suite, shutting the door behind her.

Michiru laughed a bit, and sent an equally intimate reply back to her lover, as well as a suggestion that she send a separate letter to their daughter.

Ami sent her daily report in stating that everything was fine and she sent her best wishes to the both of them. The others sent similar messages. Michiru smiled and sent back a reply as well as several of the photos Hotaru had taken. With that done, she logged off and shut the laptop off before going next door to talk to Hotaru about the festival tomorrow, and why it's not a good idea to read other people's email.

"No kidding." Hotaru muttered into the pillow she had her face pressed into. Michiru giggled a bit and sat down on the bed beside her. She gently rubbed Hotaru's back until she relaxed a bit. Hotaru then turned over and smiled up at her mother.

"I'm sorry Michiru-mama. I'll try to be a bit more careful in the future." Hotaru said as she sat up and embraced Michiru.

Michiru returned the embrace. "Don't worry about it. I told Haruka-papa to send you a separate email from now on. Hopefully we won't have a repeat of that little mistake." She kissed Hotaru on the cheek. "Now let's get some sleep, tomorrow is the first day of the festival, and we want to be at our best don't we?" Michiru grinned and ruffled her daughter's hair.

Hotaru kissed Michiru on the cheek and returned the embrace. "Yeah we do. Good night Michiru-mama. I love you." Hotaru smiled, and then an evil look flashed in her eyes as she suddenly stood up and completely made a mess of Michiru's perfectly coiffed hair before sprinting back into their suite, giggling like crazy.

"Why you little…! Ooh! You'd better sleep with one eye open!" Michiru growled at her retreating daughter's back. She went into the bathroom to comb her hair into something more manageable, before returning to their suite. She noticed that Hotaru had already changed into her bedclothes and was lying underneath several blankets, apparently asleep. 'Apparently', since Michiru could her soft laughter from under the blankets. Michiru smiled and gave Hotaru one more soft peck on the cheek before going back to her bed and changing into her own bedclothes before going to sleep.

At 0700 the next morning, the two of them were up and ready to meet their fellow musicians for breakfast before heading to the festival grounds.

In all, there were 65 musicians representing several different countries. They had breakfast with the boisterous, but charming, Australian gentleman and his wife. There were other musicians there who were polite and friendly, and some, like a middle aged German couple, that avoided contact with others entirely.

Several children were there as well. Some just traveled with their parents, while others, like Hotaru, were performing in the Children's section on Saturday morning. A few of them were younger than Hotaru.

After breakfast, they all boarded the busses and headed for Faversham Manor, the site of the festival. Both of them had their violins and Michiru had a garment bag with the dress she would be wearing when she performed.

While they were en route, a pretty brunette that was about the same age as Michiru came up and introduced herself as Lisa Faversham, the daughter of Lady Beatrice Faversham, and one of the show's main organizers. She was polite, warm, and had a fairly bubbly personality. She reminded Michiru of Usagi. Lisa was a petite young woman, 5' 1", and barely 100lbs. Her hair was cut in a Cleopatra-like style that accentuated her features. Michiru smiled and introduced herself and Hotaru.

"Its nice to meet you at last Miss Kaioh. I bought two of your CDs when I was in Japan last year, and I really liked them. I played them for my Mother and she loved them so much, she demanded that your name be added to the invite list for this year's festival." Lisa said with a warm smile.

"Thank you so much, Lisa. I'm glad you enjoyed them." Michiru was always glad to meet a fan that appreciated her musical talents. "And, please, call me Michiru."

"Why are you on the bus with us?" Hotaru asked.

"Mom and Mrs. Barnaby like to send me on one bus to try and make everyone feel at home and answer any questions they might have. Mrs. Barnaby is on the other bus, and her husband is following in his car. Besides, I like meeting the musicians personally." Lisa replied.

"Are you a musician yourself?" Michiru asked.

"I dabble a bit, piano and guitar mostly. I've always wanted to perform in front of a large crowd, but I have a bit of a stage fright problem." She sighed wistfully, a look of longing on her face. Then she stood suddenly. "But I digress. I have a few more people to meet before we get there. It was nice meeting the two of you." She shook their hands and moved off to the next group. Michiru and Hotaru both agreed that she was a nice lady as they settled back into their seats.

After a while, the busses crested a large hill and everyone aboard got their first glimpse of the stately Faversham Manor.

It was a grand place build in the late 1600's by an ancestor of Lady Beatrice's late husband, Lord Faversham, according to Hotaru's guidebook. Michiru figured that her home could fit into one wing of this place. Part of it had been rebuilt after a fire in 1827 nearly destroyed it. A new wing was added in 1906, which brought the place up to its current size. Lady Favershams' husband had spent 25 years remodeling and modernizing the place and the project had been completed before his death in 1998. Now his wife lived there with their three children, Lisa, the only daughter and the youngest child, whom they'd just met, Bernard (37), the eldest son, and William (34), the middle child.

"This place is huge!" Hotaru breathed in awe as she stared at the opulent manor. Michiru had to agree. In fact, as they got closer, she revised her estimate of the size of her home, compared to this place. She now figured that her home could fit comfortably in the foyer.

A large, covered stage dominated one end of the great lawn, with hundreds of chairs set up in front of it. There was a full orchestra at the stage as well. Several smaller tents were set up to one side as well for vendors selling souvenirs, and a variety of food and drink. Hundreds of cars and busses were already there as people came from all over to attend the festival.

There was a huge contingent of reporters there as well since a lot of well-known celebrities and members of the royal family attended the festival. Last but not least, the show would be broadcast live on a cable music channel, and the festival was being recorded for a DVD that would come out for Christmas, all proceeds to charity of course.

"I really wish Haruka-papa and Setsuna-mama was here to see this." Hotaru sighed sadly as she stepped off the bus.

"So do I, Hime-chan, so do I." Michiru replied.

After the musicians disembarked and had claimed their luggage, Lisa and Joyce came up and escorted them all to a reception area that had been set up for them that was away from the crowd. A tall, burly man in his early 50's joined Joyce. She introduced him as her husband Tom. Michiru figured him to be a businessman of some sort, perhaps even a Doctor. He was a polite enough man and liked being around the children a lot. Hotaru liked him immediately.

Lisa was waiting with a group of people whom Michiru figured were her family. Lisa was standing next to an elderly woman who sat in a wheelchair. Despite her advanced age, and the fact that she was partially paralyzed from a stroke that she had suffered a few years ago (according to the guidebook), Lady Beatrice was still a pleasant and warm host as she welcomed the assembled musicians to Faversham Manor, and the 23rd Annual International Classical Music Festival. She paused to catch her breath and a tall woman in her early 60's seamlessly took over. She was in good shape for her age, and her hair was still its natural red, with only a few strands of gray in it. She wore it in a neat bun on the back of her head. She was dressed professionally in a blue Armani business pantsuit.

"My name is Diana Pratchett, Lady Beatrice's assistant. Feel free to address any problems and concerns with me and we will do our best to accommodate you. Most of you have met Miss Lisa here." She paused and indicated Lisa who smiled and waved at everyone then Diana continued. "Allow me to introduce Lady Beatrice's sons, Bernard and William.

Bernard, the eldest son, was the spitting image of his father. Tall, around 6' 1", dark haired, a handsome high-cheek boned face, a deep tan, and a fairly athletic build. He was a nationally ranked tennis player, and a member of the Olympic equestrian team. He was polite and charming, especially to the ladies. Michiru could imagine Minako and Makoto possibly even Rei and Ami being charmed by him. The thought made her smile a bit.

Michiru also noticed that Hotaru seemed to be a bit star-struck with the handsome and dashing Bernard. Well, she is 14 now. Michiru thought. The thought of how Haruka would react to this almost made Michiru laugh out loud. She could imagine the overprotective Haruka picking Hotaru up so that they were at eye level, and forbidding her to date, much less marry him. Hotaru, with her little feet dangling several feet off the ground, would have no choice but to nod vigorously and say 'Yes, Haruka-papa.' Michiru sighed and wished that her lover were here to do just that.

By contrast, William was a small, thin man, around 5'6" or so, with weasel-like features, thinning dark hair, glasses, and a pasty complexion. He handled a lot of the business affairs for the family, and held degrees in law and business from Cambridge. He thought himself a ladies man as well, but he lingered on some of the younger ladies, especially Hotaru, something that made the two of them very uncomfortable. Michiru moved her daughter away from William to protect her. William looked annoyed for a moment, but smiled again and moved on.

"My daughter and I are great admirers of your music, Miss Kaioh." Lady Beatrice remarked as Diana wheeled her down the line.

"Thank you Lady Faversham, I am honored." Michiru bowed to her and Hotaru did the same.

"You have been teaching your daughter to play as well?" Diana asked, as she noticed the violin in Hotaru's hands.

"Yes I have. In fact Hotaru won first place in a city-wide competition just last month." Michiru beamed proudly at her daughter, who looked slightly embarrassed at the attention.

"Did she now?" Lady Beatrice smiled and then took Hotaru by the hand and smiled warmly at her. Hotaru returned the smile. "If you have that kind of talent at your age, I am sure that we can be expecting you to have your own album out fairly soon. Something I look forward to hearing."

"I'll be sure to personally autograph one and send it to you as soon as it comes out, Lady Faversham." Hotaru replied with a warm smile.

"I hope you will, and please, call me Lady Beatrice, or Lady B. as everyone around Causton calls me." She said as she pulled Hotaru closer and embraced her.

"Okay, Lady Beatrice." Hotaru kissed the grand old lady on the cheek. Lady B smiled and returned the favor. Beside them Michiru and Diana watched the exchange silently and smiled.

"I can't recall seeing Lady Beatrice looking this happy in a while." Diana remarked to Michiru.

"Hotaru tends to have that affect on people." Michiru replied, with a look of pride on her face.

Several pictures were taken of Lady Beatrice and Hotaru, along with Michiru, before she moved on with her family leaving two very awed Senshi in her wake.

"She's an amazing woman." Michiru remarked.

"That she is, a truly grand lady. She was quite the actress before she married Lord Faversham." Tom Barnaby said as he and Joyce moved up beside them.

"Yeah, the guidebook mentioned that she was a stage actress before she met and married Lord Faversham all those years ago." Hotaru said as she flipped through her book. "There's even a picture here." She held up the book to the indicated page. The picture depicted a young Lady Beatrice when she was a stunning blonde beauty. She was dressed in medieval period costume. Beside her was a tall beautiful woman with long red hair.

"Do you know who that is?" Tom asked Hotaru, pointing at the redhead in the picture.

Hotaru stared at the picture for nearly a minute until it clicked. "That's Miss Pratchett!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"Very good!" Tom beamed at the bright young girl. "Lady B and Miss Pratchett have known each other since they were about your age, and they went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts together."

Michiru looked impressed, her respect and admiration for Lady Beatrice grew by leaps and bounds. Then she looked at her watch and gasped. "Oh, no! The festival is about to start, and I still don't know when I'm supposed to go on."

Joyce chuckled a bit and handed her an itinerary sheet. "Relax dear, we have lots of time. As you can see, you'll be performer number 8 in about two and a half hours or so, possibly three. You'll have to be backstage half an hour before you go on, so we have lots of time to relax and enjoy the show."

"But I don't even know where I'm supposed to sit!" Michiru was starting to get excited.

"Come and sit with us. Our own daughter, Cully, and her husband couldn't make it, so we have two extra seats. We'll even watch Hotaru for you while you're up on stage." Joyce stated as she held Michiru by the shoulders to calm the younger woman down. Beside them, Tom and Hotaru both looked fairly happy at the suggestion.

Michiru calmed down a bit. "Thank you Joyce, Tom. I don't know how to repay you for your kindness."

"Come and have dinner with us after the show. That should be fine as the show only lasts until 6 in the evening anyway." Tom replied.

"Dinner sounds wonderful. Thank you again." Michiru smiled as she hugged them both.

"Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Barnaby." Hotaru said as she hugged them as well.

"It's the least we can do my young friend. We should be getting to our seats now, I should think." Tom remarked suddenly as there was a lot more activity on the stage. The four of them hurried to their seats in time for the announcer welcoming everyone to this years' festival. He made a few remarks about changes in the line-up, among other things, before introducing a few special guests, including His Royal Highness Prince Edward and his wife and children. Then, after thanking Lady Beatrice and her family, and the traditional playing of the national anthem, God Save the Queen, he introduced the first performers.

All of the performers that proceeded Michiru played beautifully, even the unhappy couple from Germany. The crowd watched, spellbound, as each performer played their sets, without any major mishaps other than a few missed notes on occasion. Michiru got up to head backstage as the 7th performer was being introduced.

"Good luck Michiru-mama." Hotaru said as she hugged and kissed Michiru.

"Try to behave while I'm on stage, okay." Michiru replied.

"We'll keep an eye on her, don't worry." Joyce said. Michiru thanked her and Tom before heading backstage.

Performer number 7, a Canadian woman, performed flawlessly, and was given a well deserved round of applause. Then Michiru was announced. She stepped out wearing a blue and gold dress with an ankle length skirt that was cut in a way that would allow plenty of freedom of movement, but wouldn't be considered provocative. The crowd applauded her politely, except she could hear Hotaru cheering wildly from the 4th row where she was sitting with Tom and Joyce.

"My daughter, Hotaru, ladies and gentlemen." Michiru remarked with a grin. Everyone laughed politely. Hotaru took the hint and sat down again, looking sheepish.

"I will be performing a selection of a few of my favorite composers, plus some of my own compositions, including a piece written especially for the festival. I hope you enjoy them." With that, Michiru began to play.

She could feel the audience being swept along by her music as she played. They applauded as she finished playing a composition Antonio Vivaldi, before moving on to her own compositions. She saw Lady Beatrice, Diana, and Lisa looking at her in rapt attention, while William and Bernard just sat there. She paid them no heed as she allowed herself to sway with the rhythm.

Finally, she got to her final piece, the song she had composed with Haruka especially for this festival. "This last piece was composed originally as a duet with my companion, Haruka Tenoh. I need someone to accompany me on the piano, so if one of my fellow musicians could assist me? Please?" Michiru looked hopefully to the backstage area, where to her surprise and delight, Lisa Faversham strode out. The audience was shocked for a moment then they applauded enthusiastically. Lisa smiled and waved as she sat at the grand piano.

"Are you sure you're up to this?" Michiru whispered to Lisa, referring to her stage fright.

"Don't worry about me, let's just play." Lisa replied. Michiru nodded.

"This is called 'The Wind and the Water'. I hope you enjoy it. She looked at Lisa, who indicated she was ready. Michiru smiled and they began playing.

After a few minutes, Michiru had to admit that Lisa was a gifted pianist in her own right. She played the composition that she had never practiced for flawlessly. Michiru began to admire her and her mother more and more. She chanced a look at Lady Beatrice who sat there enraptured like the rest of the audience. The grand old lady was crying openly and without shame.

Once the piece was completed, there was silence from the audience, until finally there was a smattering that soon erupted into a standing ovation. People were cheering even louder than Hotaru had been. She thought that she spotted Hotaru bouncing up and down in her chair. Lisa came over to her and Michiru embraced her before they held hands and bowed to the audience together. After a few more minutes of curtain calls, they finally exited together.

"That was incredible!" Lisa exclaimed happily.

"You played beautifully, Lisa." Michiru said as they embraced each other.

"You weren't so bad yourself." Lisa commented with a grin. They both laughed.

As their laughter subsided and they caught their breath, Lisa began to speak. "My Mom wanted me to ask you something."

"What is it?" Michiru asked. Her breathing was slowly returning to normal again.

"She was wondering if you and your daughter would like to have dinner with us tonight, and then spend the night in our home as our guests."

To say that Michiru was floored by the invitation would be a gross understatement. She stared at her new friend in slack-jawed astonishment. "I'll have to talk to Joyce and Tom first because we had accepted their dinner invitation, but I'm sure Hotaru would love to join your family for dinner, as I would. Thank you." Michiru said.

When they caught up to Hotaru, Joyce, and Tom, and told them about the change in plans, Hotaru agreed enthusiastically by hugging both Michiru and Lisa.

"I guess this means we'll have to postpone our dinner for a later date." Tom remarked.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. I'm sorry Tom, Joyce. Really I am." Michiru said sadly.

"Don't worry about it dear." Joyce replied soothingly. "You said that you'll be here for a week or so anyway, plenty of time then. Your friends should be here by then, and we'll all have dinner together."

"Yes you're right, of course." Michiru smiled brightly again. "Could you give us a ride back to our hotel then? Hotaru and I need to change and grab a few things before going to Faversham Manor for dinner."

"Of course." Joyce replied. After agreeing to dinner at the Manor by 8 o'clock, the four of them piled into Tom's car and sped off back to the hotel. Michiru and Hotaru grabbed their overnight bags, and each had a shower before putting on their best dresses. Michiru left a message telling Setsuna where they would be if she made it in that night. And then they were off to Faversham Manor.

Tom dropped the two of them off at the Manor at 7:30 PM. The field was clear of people, except for the clean up crew and a few stagehands. A butler met them at the door and their luggage was taken to their room and they were escorted to meet the family.

The actual interior of the Manor didn't do the pictures in the guidebook justice. Everywhere they looked, fine paintings and tapestries lined the oak-paneled walls. They were led past paintings of scenes of everyday life in the English countryside until they got to the main reception room where Lady Beatrice and her family were waiting.

"Miss Kaioh, and young Miss Tomoe, welcome to Faversham Manor. We're so glad that you could join us." Lady Beatrice beamed from her wheelchair. Diana, Lisa, Bernard, and William all stood behind her smiling as well.

"We are honored to be here in your magnificent home, Lady Beatrice." Michiru and Hotaru both bowed to their hosts.

"Dinner should be ready momentarily so please have a seat and tell us about yourselves." Diana waved them to a large couch where they sat. William tried to sit beside Hotaru, but Diana beat him to it. Another annoyed expression passed quickly over his face. Michiru was puzzled by this, but shrugged it off.

A few minutes of pleasant conversation passed, and then the butler strode in and whispered into Diana's ear. She nodded in understanding and the butler left again.

"You have a telephone call, Miss Kaioh. A Miss Meioh." Diana stated with an inquiring look.

"My roommate, Setsuna. She must have just gotten in. Is there a telephone I can use?" Michiru asked. An extension was produced, as if by magic, out of an ornate wooden box sitting on a nearby table. Michiru picked up the receiver and pressed the button. "Hello?"

"Is that you, Michiru?" Setsuna's tired, but unmistakable voice asked in Japanese.

"It's me, hello Setsuna." Michiru replied, relieved that her best friend had made it to England safely.

"Setsuna-mama?" Hotaru asked excitedly as she bounded over and stood beside Michiru. The Favershams and Diana watched them with great interest.

"Hi, I just got here and the receptionist told me where you were. How did the performance go?" Setsuna asked.

"It was wonderful. I'd tell you about it but you sound exhausted. Long flight?"

"Way too long. I'd join you there, but I need to sleep more. You can tell me all about it tomorrow." Setsuna paused and yawned. "Is that Hotaru I hear beside you?"

Michiru smiled at Hotaru's expectant face. "Yes, she's here. Hold on." Michiru cupped her hand over the receiver. "Don't keep her too long; she's had a long flight." She then handed the phone to Hotaru.

"I won't Michiru-mama." Hotaru smiled and took the receiver. "Setsuna-mama?" She asked.

"Michiru-mama? Setsuna-mama?" Bernard whispered with a puzzled expression. Lady Beatrice shushed him.

"Hello Hime-chan. It's good to hear your voice." Setsuna sounded relieved.

"It's nice to hear yours as well. Will we see you here tomorrow? This place is amazing!" Hotaru said excitedly.

"I hope so, Hotaru." Setsuna yawned again. "But I should get to bed soon, it was a long flight. Good night, my little Princess."

"Good night Setsuna-mama. Michiru-mama and I both love you." Hotaru replied.

"I love you both as well. Good night. Enjoy your dinner." Setsuna said before hanging up.

Just as Hotaru handed the receiver back to Michiru, the butler returned.

"Lady Beatrice, members of the Faversham family, honored guests. Dinner is served."