# II: The Green-Eyed Cat explained — Clouds of Witness

> Chapter companion for Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers.

## What happens

At Riddlesdale Lodge, the household endures a tense Sunday breakfast following the Duke of Denver's arrest for murder. The detective Charles Parker, an intimate friend of Lord Peter Wimsey, is present and has detained the party for reexamination. The Duchess insists on attending church despite concerns about publicity, while others express various angers and embarrassments. After the churchgoers depart, Lord Peter arrives and discusses the case with Parker, learning from the Hon. Freddy Arbuthnot that Captain Cathcart was in good spirits the night before his death.

## Themes in this chapter

### Social Class and Aristocracy

The breakfast scene reveals the social pressures and expectations on the aristocratic family after the Duke's arrest, including concerns about public scrutiny and maintaining appearances.

### Deception and Secrets

The tension at breakfast stems from the unresolved murder and the hidden circumstances of Cathcart's death, with characters withholding information and speculating.

## Character check-ins

### Lord Peter Wimsey

Arrives at Riddlesdale Lodge after the churchgoers depart; discusses the case with Parker and learns from Freddy Arbuthnot about Cathcart's cheerful mood the night before.

### Mr. Parker

The detective from Scotland Yard who has detained the party for reexamination; he is an intimate friend of Lord Peter and is eating curry at breakfast.

### Duke of Denver

The host who has been arrested for murder; his absence dominates the conversation and tensions at breakfast.

### Captain Denis Cathcart

The deceased; Freddy Arbuthnot recalls that Cathcart was in good spirits the night before his death, planning to propose to Mary and move to Paris.

### Freddy Arbuthnot

Present at breakfast; provides key information about Cathcart's cheerful mood and plans the night before the murder.

### Mr. Murbles

The elderly solicitor who traveled up in a hurry; he is eating dry toast and trying to contact Sir Impey Biggs.

## Key lines

> Some people hold that breakfast is the best meal of the day. Others, less robust, hold that it is the worst, and that, of all breakfasts in the week, Sunday morning breakfast is incomparably the worst.

While some consider breakfast the finest meal, others—especially the less hardy—find it the most unpleasant, with Sunday breakfast being the worst of all.

_Opening lines set the tense mood of the chapter._

> I say, won't you get a bit stared at, what?

Won't you attract unwanted attention?

_Freddy Arbuthnot warns the Duchess about going to church amid the scandal._

> Not a bit of it,' he said; 'it's a damn good world. I'm goin' to ask Mary for a date tomorrow, an' then we'll go and live in Paris, where they understand sex.'

Cathcart was optimistic, planning to propose to Mary and move to Paris.

_Freddy recounts Cathcart's cheerful mood the night before his death._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/clouds_of_witness_se/chapters/ii-the-green-eyed-cat
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/clouds_of_witness_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/clouds_of_witness_se/chapters