On the 13th July the ambassadors had their first audience with the Council. Northumberland, of course, was absent: he had just started on his disastrous expedition to Cambridge, already a beaten man in the face of Mary’s growing popularity; but Arundel, Shrewsbury, Pembroke, Mason, Petre, and others received them. Renard was the spokesman of the envoys, and he laboured hard, even now, to persuade the Englishmen of the Emperor’s desire to banish from their minds all suspicion of his motives—a suspicion, he said, engendered solely by French misrepresentations. He was naturally anxious for the safety and good treatment of his cousin, Lady Mary, but he had no desire whatever to use her as a political instrument, or to promote her marriage with a foreigner, or indeed to interfere in any way with the established order of affairs in England. The Emperor’s message was received courteously, as well it might be, for the Councillors were already trembling in their shoes, and the envoys were requested to defer their departure from England until further instructions came from the Emperor—a notable change of tone since their interview with Cobham and Mason the day before. The ambassadors, however, were still as far as ever from understanding the real state of affairs, even at the date of their next letter (16th July). “We consider it certain that before four days are over the Lady will be in the Duke’s power if she has no force to resist him.... He is raising troops everywhere and is strong on land and sea, so that we do not see how those who secretly hold with the Lady will be able or dare to declare themselves. We have no confirmation that the Lady is aided by so many people as was reported.... On the contrary, a messenger from the Lady brought us to-day the copy of the Council’s reply to her letter to them, and a verbal message from her telling us that she saw the ruin into which she would fall unless your Majesty helped her.”[7] If this had really been the case, Mary would never have been Queen of England, for the Emperor plainly told his envoys that, for an infinity of extremely sage and prudent reasons which he detailed at great length, he could not give the help that Mary hoped for. New credentials, indeed, were sent to them, and instructions that they were again to ply the Council with assurances that nothing was farther from the Emperor’s thoughts than to interfere in any way in England. A mild word or two was to be introduced on behalf of Mary; but the whole object of the mission was to induce the English Government, whatever it might be, to renounce the French friendship and depend solely upon their ancient ally the Monarch of Spain and Flanders.[8]