 After Stephen's accession, Nigel was at first retained as treasurer, but the king came to suspect him and his family of secretly supporting the Empress Matilda.The prime movers behind Stephen's suspicions against the bishops were the Beaumont family, headed by the twin brothers Robert, Earl of Leicester, and Waleran, Count of Meulan, who wished to be the main advisors of the king.Roger, Alexander, and Nigel together held key castles, including Salisbury, Devizes, Sherborne, Malmesbury, Sleaford, and Newark.