Chapter 11: Glimpse of the Past
Sancha left Florence on a sunny afternoon. Rafael, accompanied by a group of cardinals, hosted a farewell party for her. When Duke François of Calais learned the news, he also prepared several lavish gifts. Sancha secretly complained to Rafael that she felt that François at the farewell party was like a flamboyant rooster.
When she said this, François was talking to a lady. Rafael took a quick look at the other person and had to admit that Sancha’s description was very accurate. This girl must have an extraordinary talent for rhetoric.
The fashion of Calais has always been at the forefront of the entire continent. The strong national power has given the nobles ample time and energy to pursue frivolous trends. In recent years, they have come up with a new trend: using fresh fruits and flowers as ornaments to decorate wigs and clothes. Wigs one foot or even two feet high were often precariously adorned with grapes, apples, apricots, and walnuts. These “fruit basket wigs” and “flower basket wigs” had been all the rage across Calais.
In this era, fresh fruit was a luxury, and using it as decoration was a way to show off one’s wealth. The ladies were keen on this and even set up many hair salons for this purpose, where they competed with each other on how to pile fruits to infinite heights on their wigs.
Of course, it is impossible for men to pile so many things on their heads, so they tried their best to decorate their plain hats, with feathers of various birds and gems. It was said that the little emperor of Calais has a hat decorated with peacock feathers and emerald gems piled underneath. The entire hat weighed a full five kilograms, and no one could get within a meter of him after putting it on.
Duke Francois’s attire today was very “Calais”. He wore tight white trousers and a short coat fastened with a gem-studded belt. The coat was woven with intricate patterns of colorful feathers. Each layer consisted of feathers of the same colour, and the combination of different feather layers created a colorful pattern. The collar and cuffs were lined with expensive lace, with all sorts of accessories such as brooches and pendants attached. He was a walking jewelry display.
Every time he turned to walk, the myriad of diamonds on his body refracted the light, casting shimmering ripples. Sancha had been dazzled by this light several times and secretly rolled her eyes behind the cover of her folding fan.
Rafael pretended not to see Sancha’s expression and turned naturally to speak to Julius – yes, as the most prominent family in Florence, the head of Portia would naturally be present. Compared to the flamboyant Francois, Julius’s attire was much more understated: a waistcoat and long coat, trousers tucked into short boots, with only a brooch and ring adorning him.
But even so, with the surname “Portia,” he was still the object of everyone’s eager greetings.