Being the youngest he was duly sent of to Baron Michel de Bucy, across the River Risle. One of his older brothers, as was the custom in those days, became a monk, and later an abbot of a monastery, whose monks devoted themselves entirely to prayer, and work in their fields. When Hugh's father and eldest brother died overseas Hugh, by default, inherited the domains.

Hugh was as tall as his closest friend, Tancred, but was more solid in build. He also, initially, had close cropped hair. His eyes were hazel in colour, and his temper often flared to the fore rather quickly. Unlike Tancred, he was what we would call an 'action man'. He was a tactician, and preferred to deal immediately with the problems of the moment, rather than wait for things to develop a life of their own. He was definitely a 'one-girl' man, but his animal magnetism caused many a young lady to be fatally attracted to him. He excelled in fighting, but he had little time to develop this art, except to transfer this energy to his sons. For the most part, his skills were centred in the trading interests that Baron Michel de Bucy had invested him with.