After the departure of Juan Fernández Andeiro, who had come to Estremoz with a message from the English, as we have described in its proper place, King Fernando sent Lourenço Eanes Fogaça, a wise and much respected man, his chancellor of the great seal and a member of his Royal Council, to England. He sent him there so he would direct and sign the king’s treaties in accordance with the agreement that he had made through Juan Fernández, which was that the earl should come to his aid with as many men as he could gather and that he should bring a son that he had by his wife. This was a grandson of King Pedro of Castile (who was killed at Montiel), so that King Fernando could marry his daughter Beatriz to him, for these two to be heirs to, and rulers of, the realm after his own death.

The king was [still] feeling very saddened at suffering the great loss of his fleet, when a squire called Rui Cravo, who had accompanied Lourenço Eanes to England, arrived in Buarcos on a barque and landed to take the news to the king of how the English were coming to his aid. So great was the pleasure that people understood the king would feel at their coming that they could not wait to let him know about it, in order to be greatly rewarded for giving him good tidings. This in fact was the case when Rui Cravo arrived in Santarém and gave the king the news of how the fleet of the English had left Plymouth, was now on the high seas and would soon be in Lisbon. Rui Cravo told him how many men and which great lords were coming, in what manner and how they were armed, and how they felt about the enterprise.

The king was greatly pleased with this news, despite the sadness he felt at that moment for the loss of his fleet. Indeed, the pleasure he felt then was greater than the sadness he had felt before, when news of the loss had first been brought to him. Moreover, not only the king and his household, but everyone in the realm was glad at the coming of the English, despite the sadness they felt, hoping to make amends with them for the damage they had suffered at the hands of the Castilians.