On 15 March 1584 Sturmius wrote to Queen Elizabeth from Strasbourg:

Doubtless Sturmius's proposals represent the good wishes of an elderly philosopher and theologian towards Oxford, Leicester, and Sidney, rather than any realistic way ahead in the Protestant battle against Catholicism.

On 6 April Anne gave birth to a second daughter, Bridget. The fact that conception must have occurred in August 1583, within months of the burial of a child the preceding May, testifies to the practical success of the marital reconciliation reported in 1582 and 1583. In July 1584, a memorandum, ‘An estimate of my Lady Oxfords Charges for one whole yere in the Courte’, was prepared on Anne's behalf. Here we learn that Anne attended Court with a personal retinue of two gentlewomen, one chambermaid, one gentleman, and two yeoman. As a follower of the Court, she accepted the obligation to bestow a New Year's gift on the Queen and (this year) on Leicester, as well as gratuities on royal servants down to the ‘Children of the Kitchen’. Anne had to pay for wood, coal, torches, candles, soap, and rushes, and incurred an expense whenever the Court moved from one location to another, whether by land or by water.

Anne maintained separate facilities for her daughters Bridget, now three months, and Elizabeth, who turned nine on 2 July. Anne herself was served by two gentlewomen, one laundress, and one gentleman. Bridget required a nurse, a ‘rocker’, and a laundress, while Lady Elizabeth had a female attendant in the person of Margaret Browne, as well as a laundress. She was also served by three servants, a man, a boy, and a schoolmaster, whose wages and liveries were provided by Oxford. A male servant named Brooke carried wood and coal to the ladies’ chamber. Lady Elizabeth received a supplementary allowance of £30, while £10 was set aside for Bridget.