 De Quadra informed Philip II that 
Mary Dudley said that if this were not true, I might be sure she would not say such a thing as it might cost her her life and she was acting now with the Queen's consent, but she (the Queen) would not speak to the Emperor's ambassador about it.Philip's envoy received assurances from Lord Robert and Sir Thomas Parry as well.Yet Elizabeth cooled down again and gave Mary Dudley further instructions to deal with the Spaniards, until she herself told de Quadra "that someone had [spoken to him] with good intentions, but without any commission from her".