Sacrius/Jacques

Sacrius is the assassin-for-hire that is hired at the start of the novel. When the novel opens, the reader is not aware of whom Sacrius is or who he is hired to kill. Additionally, the reader doesn't know who it is that is hiring Sacrius to carry out the assassination. By the end of the novel, the reader knows that Sacrius and Jacques are the same person.

Jacques is the messenger that works for Bishop Rowley. After Rowley disappears, Jacques starts to work as the messenger for Queen Eleanor while she is staying in Godstow. It turns out that Sacrius is responsible for killing Rosamund and Bertha.

Sacrius/Jacques is slender and somewhat effeminate. His stature and build is what allows him to dress as a woman—the old woman that gives Bertha the mushrooms for Rosamund. It is when Jacques dresses up as a woman...