When Godwin and his sons returned from the exile into which
they had been driven, and again became all powerful, there was not,
as I have heard from your father, a single drop of blood shed, nor
any vengeance taken upon the men who had brought about their exile.
It would have been very different had such things happened here."
"You speak rightly, wife. The English are of a more gentle disposition
than we are, though nowise backward in battle. But now, Guy, it
is time that you were returning. You have already made a longer
stay than usual. I shall see you again to-morrow when we start for
Eu. Young sirs, I hope that on your return you will often ride over
here when your lord does not require you. We shall always be pleased
to see you, and although the forest lies some miles away, Guy can
show you good hunting, though not so good as that which, as I hear,
you can get in England, where the population is not so thick as it
is in this part of Normandy."
The horses were brought round, and the three lads rode into Rouen
just as night was falling.
Long before daybreak there was a stir in the streets of the city,
as parties of knights and nobles rode in with bodies of their
retainers in obedience to the orders of the duke. All in the palace
were awake early. A hasty breakfast was eaten, while just as the
sun rose the duke mounted his horse, and at the head of an array,
composed of some twenty barons and knights and four hundred
men-at-arms, rode out of the city.
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