It is, therefore, not surprising that Margaret was deputed by Maximilian and Ferdinand to act as their representative at the forthcoming Congress. Hostilities had continued more actively than ever between the Duke of Gueldres and the provinces of the Netherlands. At last a truce of forty days was declared during which time Margaret went to Cambray to meet the Cardinal of Amboise, and to confer with him with a view to concluding a final peace. She arrived at Cambray in November 1508 with an escort of a hundred horsemen and a company of archers. Half the town was reserved for her and her suite; the other half had been placed at the disposal of the Cardinal of Amboise, who was acting on behalf of the Pope and Louis XII., and was accompanied by Étienne de Poncher, Bishop of Paris, and Alberto Pio, Count of Carpi. Margaret, invested with full powers by Maximilian, was escorted by Mathieu Lang, Bishop of Gurk, the emperor's confidant and secretary; Mercurin de Gattinare, President of the Burgundian Parliament; Jean Peters, President of the Council of Malines; Jean Gooselet, Abbot of Maroilles; and Jean Caulier, President of the Privy Council. She was also instructed to admit Jacques de Croy, Bishop of Cambray, and Edmund Wingfield, the English ambassador, to the negotiations, as well as King Ferdinand's envoy, if he should send one. The Sieur de Chièvres (de Croy) and other members of the Burgundian Council accompanied the princess as far as Valenciennes, and remained there to receive daily reports of the proceedings at Cambray, and to give their help if necessary. Maximilian stayed at Malines to transact the business of the Netherlands during his daughter's absence. Du Bos, speaking of the part that Margaret played in the League of Cambray, says: 'This princess had a man's talent for managing business, in fact she was more capable than most men, for she added to her talents the fascination of her sex; brought up as she had been to hide her own feelings, conciliate her opponents, and persuade all parties that she was acting blindly in their interests.' Another contemporary writer says: 'This princess received the Cardinal with great honour, captivated him by her courteous, insinuating, and caressing manners, and was so successful in charming him, that he could refuse her nothing.'