Oddly enough, if she wished him to succeed, the Queen had not done Essex the honour of having him made a member of the Irish Council, and he had no part in the abortive negotiations which followed. Being called upon to perform the articles concluded in England, Desmond said that he would take no advantage of these having been extorted from him under restraint, and that he was willing to be bound, but only as part of a general settlement. Otherwise he would be the one unarmed man in Leinster, Munster, and Connaught; and with all his loyalty he had no mind to be the common sport and prey of the three provinces. Being asked to restore the castles which were in the Queen's hands before his escape, and to give up any others when required, he refused to hold his all at her Majesty's pleasure, and could not believe that she herself desired it. Pardon he was ready to receive thankfully, but would not 'repair into England to be a spectacle of poverty to all the world,' and he asked the Council to pity his long misery there. He was ready to perform presently all his promises, but would not give pledges beyond what he had before agreed to. His only son was in England, so was Sir James, one of his two legitimate brothers. 'If neither my son, being mine only son, nor my brother, whom I love, nor the possession of mine inheritance, as before is granted, can suffice, then to the justice of God and the Queen I appeal upon you all.'[286] [Sidenote: Meeting of Essex, Desmond, Ormonde, and Kildare.] Desmond's answers were not considered satisfactory, and he refused to remain on protection either with Kildare or Essex till the Queen's pleasure should be known. A proclamation was prepared declaring him a traitor, and offering 500_l._ for his head, and 1,000_l._ and a pension to any who would bring him in alive. 'In my judgment,' said Essex, 'the war is unseasonably begun, because the rest of the realm standeth in so ill terms, and the manner of Desmond's answer might with honour have suffered a toleration till Ulster had been fully established.... The mischief is without remedy, for I am bound with the Earl of Kildare, by our words and honours, to safe conduct Desmond to the confines of Munster, which will take ten days at least, in which mean the bruit of the war will be public in all places.... I can hope for none other than a general stir in all parts at once.' [Sidenote: Ormonde's advice.]