"That shall be remedied, Guy, as soon as matters settle down. I have laid
by none of my revenues, for the keeping up of a hundred housecarls has
taxed them to the utmost, but now that my income is more than doubled, and
this expense has altogether ceased, I shall have funds with which I can
soon begin to build. When I was young, Steyning seemed to me a fine house,
but after your Norman castles it is indeed but a poor place."
When, a fortnight later, the De Burgs arrived with Wulf, while Agnes
expressed herself delighted with the quaintness of the old Saxon home, her
father and mother were decidedly of Guy's opinion.
"The house is a good house in its way," the Baron said, "but there will be
great changes in the land. Much of it will be transferred to Norman hands,
and ere long castles and chateaux like ours at home will rise everywhere,
and as an English noble with broad lands it is but fit that your residence
should vie with others. But this shall be my care, and shall be my
daughter's special dowry. I foresee that it will be long ere matters wholly
settle down. Moreover, though William's hand is strong that of his
successor may be weak, and in time there will be the same troubles here
among the barons that there were in Normandy before William put them down
with a strong hand. Therefore, I should say we will build a castle rather
than a chateau, for such I am sure will be the style of all the Norman
buildings here, until England settles down to peace and quiet.
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