Yup, the attempt at humor-- self-deprecating, of course, as Lyall would never do anything else with someone he doesn't know, and thus doesn't know if he respects or not-- falls fairly flat. Ah well, Lyall is used to that. Butlers probably aren't supposed to be funny, anyway.

He glances back at the odd masked face at the last comment. While probably kindly meant, it's entirely out of the question. "Oh goodness, no," he says mildly. "You're a guest, not staff. Whatever gave you the idea that you should be put to work?"