Chapter 33: Tea Time (1/2)
Berengar was holding Adela's hand as he walked side-by-side with her into the dining room, where many of the guests visiting for their engagement ceremony were currently staying and enjoying a lavish meal. The noblemen and women of various stature could not help themselves from complimenting the chefs and the fine cuisine they had served to the guests. Of course, it was all of Berengar's favorites and the culinary knowledge he brought with him from his previous life. Though certain foods were missing from the dishes due to the inability to source them, the main staples of what would become german cooking were all spread out in a feast for the Lord and Ladies to enjoy at their leisure.
When Berengar entered the room, he was wearing a fine black velvet doublet with golden embroidery. Worn over the doublet was an exquisite sleeveless black fur coat. His trousers were matching black velvet and were well-tailored, and he currently wore knee-high leather riding boots. All of which were recently made. Atop his neck and over his shoulders was a golden chain embellished in black gemstones. His extravagant attire was recently manufactured in his fledgling textile industry and was in the style of the Tudor era, which had yet to exist in this timeline. To the medieval lords and ladies who gathered in the room, his renaissance style attire was new and luxurious. The moment the nobility laid their eyes upon the young Lord and his unique fashion sense, they could not help but feel astonished and envious at the same time. Was this really the sickly and petty young lord they all knew?
Though they had all heard the rumors of Berengar's recent transformation, none of them had truly believed it until the moment they laid eyes upon him. Adela, of course, was standing next to him, holding his hand and wearing a Tudor-style dress in the same black and gold color scheme. Despite her age, she appeared quite ravishing standing next to her betrothed; many of the eligible bachelors instantly became furious that a lowly Baron's son like Berengar had snatched up such a fine young woman. They could not understand what the Count of Steiermark was thinking, allowing his youngest daughter to be wed to the son of a family of such low nobility. Of course, Otto was not the only count marrying one of his daughters to Sieghard's sons.
With the arrival of the Count of Steiermark and the Count of Tyrol came many of their subjects paying respects to their lieges and their attendance at what would normally be a local affair. There were far more nobles at the occasion than what was initially projected, and there were many more to come in the following days. From Steiermark and Tyrol, nobles of all positions could be found in Kufstein at the moment. Many of which were not even aware of Berengar's existence before his engagement to Adela. Still, they did their best to appease him, as they could tell by the presence of two Counts at a celebration that he personally called for, that perhaps one day Berengar would become an important figure in the Duchy of Austria.
Linde was standing in the crowd next to Lambert as she watched Berengar and Adela arrive in the newly designed fashion with a great deal of envy in her heart. Why had Berengar not presented her with such a fine dress? Obviously, she knew it would not be appropriate for him to do so, and if she waltzed around wearing such a fine dress, her father and fiance would immediately become suspicious of where she had acquired it. Yet the young woman could not prevent such feelings as she gazed upon Berengar and his future bride standing in the middle of the dining hall basking in the glory.
Just as Berengar had planned, the nobles saw the luxurious new outfits Adela and himself were sporting and could not help but approach the two and inquire about where they purchased such fine clothing. Of course, Berengar revealed that it was designed and manufactured in his family's territory within the new textile factories he personally owned. If the nobility wanted to purchase the new fashion designs for themselves, they would have to negotiate with him personally. Thus a new, and lucrative trade was born on the spot.
Through much effort and expense, Berengar had begun to grow flax and had imported a great deal of the material alongside silk to produce these designs. Though at the moment, the flax was still growing and had yet to be harvested. The factory was fully constructed. However, it was currently operating at minimum capacity, as only a single unit of each of the new inventions was set in the large building. Those inventions include the spinning jenny, the spinning mule, the flying shuttle, and the water frame. Considering his industrial district was built near the river Inn he had ample water power to use in both the steel and textile industries.
As of now, he could only produce a small quantity of clothing, but it was more than enough to appease the nobles in front of him and their desires to buy the new style of fashion in which Berengar had personally introduced. Though now was not the time to talk business; instead, it was the time to build alliances and conspire against his enemies. Berengar and Adela spent much of the day socializing with the other nobles; in this feudal era, building alliances were important.
Berengar sat at the head of the table as he associated with the other young nobles, drinking fine chamomile tea as he snacked on apple strudel and lebkuchen cookies. The other nobles of his age were delighted by the delicacies in front of them, which Berengar boasted of being the invention of the local chefs. He would not take credit for too many things, else nobody would believe him.
A young lady who was quite attractive could not help but exclaim in joy as she tasted pfeffernusse for the first time.
”Adela, you are so lucky; I would be so happy if I could snack on such treats each day.”
Adela could not help but smile at the compliment; the truth was she was quite used to snacking on these things. She had even begun to exercise more to maintain her petite physique; she would never want to become fat and unattractive in Berengar's eyes. Berengar, on the other hand, goaded the girl on and handed her a slice of cheesecake.
”Try this; I promise you will love it!”
The young lady who had a passion for pfeffernusse tasted the german cheesecake and immediately fell in love with it. Linde was observing Berengar's behavior while snacking on her favorite foods at the other side of the table. She was not as into sweets as Adela was and preferred the actual meals, like schnitzel. As long as she could get a good jaeger schnitzel with a side of spaetzle and a good lager to go with it, she was satisfied. That just so happened to be Berengar's favorite meal, too; of course, a crucial component of the meal was missing, but Linde had no way of knowing it.