Lyall, Randolph

Manga concept art by Rem.

Professor Randolph Lyall is a werewolf and Beta of the Woolsey Pack at the beginning of the Parasol Protectorate Series. He is one of the main characters in that series. He appears briefly in both the Finishing School and Custard Protocol series. 

Like his Alpha, he is employed in the Bureau for Unnatural Registration. He is a field agent and Lord Maccon's second in command at the London BUR office, holding the official designation of Secretary Prime.

As of 1873 has been a Lt. Colonel in the Coldsteam Guards for c. 50 years.

Appearance

Professor Lyall is a man of average height and average build, though he is actually quite muscular. Alexia wonders which profession he had before metamorphosis.

He has sandy hair, an angular, vulpine face, and hazel eyes.

His dress style is very demure and sombre. He does not dress to impress and chooses rather understated items. It has been noted that he loves waistcoats and owns a lot of them.

His wolf form is smaller (like his human form) and described as having "sandy fur frosted black about the head and neck, pale yellow eyes, and an almost foxlike face".

Lyall can smell hive allegiance in blood, and described by Lord Maccon as having the "best nose of any of us" and "generations of experience with the Westminster Hive" in Soulless.

Personality

"Lyall´s reserve was practically flawless. Then she wondered if his very quiet stillness were not like that of a child climbing into hot water, afraid that every little movement would only make things hotter and more painful." - Alexia Maccon in Heartless

He is the polar opposite of his Alpha, Lord Conall Maccon. He is calm, collected and reserved.

Professor Lyall would do anything for his pack and has shown that on many occasions.

He is also very fond of steampunk gadgetry, and has shown an interest in researching biological organisms. 

History

Nothing is known about his life prior to metamorphosis.

He is the oldest member of the Woolsey Pack, and older than most of the werewolves near London, including the dewan. He was born around 1500 and became undead around 1530 (just before King Henry absorbed supernaturals legally into the British Empire), by the time of the Parasol Protectorate series he's over 300 years old. He has served as Beta to three different Alphas so far.

Twenty or more years before the start of the series, the former Woolsey Alpha became mad, which is common in old Alphas. Lyall took the brunt of his physically and sexually abusive behavior to protect his pack.

When Lyall's lover, Alessandro Tarabotti, was killed in battle with the Alpha (in 1850), Lyall started to fuel a conspiracy with the Kingair Pack, leading them to betray their Alpha (in 1853). Conall Maccon turned to the Woolsey Pack instead and killed the mad Alpha.

In the books

Manners & Mutiny

Professor Lyall makes an appearance at a dinner party hosted by Lord Akeldama.

Meat Cute

In April 1872, Sophronia arranges for Professor Lyall to be introduced to Alexia at a houseparty, so Lord Maccon would be formally introduced to Alexia. Five of the Woolsey Pack had come to the ball so Mr. Riehard Tiklebark could apply to join the pack. Lord Maccon asks Professor Lyall's opinion on whether to allow Mr. Tiklebark entrance to the pack, and Lyall opines Mr. Ticklebark would be an asset, as long as his previous ties were severed.

Soulless

Professor Lyall arrived at a dinner party thrown by the Duke and Duchess of Snodgrove with Lord Maccon to conduct the BUR investigation of the vampire attack against Alexia Tarabotti. Lord Maccon sent Professor Lyall to investigate whether or not the vampire that attacked Miss Tarabotti had come from outside of London, by visiting surrounding BUR offices. He went to the Canterbury BUR offices first. Upon leaving, Lyall learns from a loner that all of the other werewolf loners have also gone missing. He returns to report to Lord Maccon. He spends the rest of his time either investigating the mystery, guarding Miss Tarabotti, or giving Lord Maccon romantic advice. He then arrives at the Hypocras Club to help clean up and escort Miss Tarabotti home. In the end, he attends Miss Tarabotti and Lord Maccon's wedding.

Changeless

Professor Lyall first appears in Changeless when he stops Major Channing Channing from accidentally attacking the new Lady Maccon. Later he tells Lady Maccon that the mortal-plague is moving north towards Scotland ahead of Lord Maccon. When Lady Maccon leaves to join her husband, Lyall stays behind to take care of the pack and handle BUR business. With the help of Lord Akeldama (and his drone, Biffy), and Major Channing, Lyall sets up an operation to discover that the Westminster Hive is looking for Egyptian artifacts. Later, the three of them discover that the Westminster Hive has an active aethographic transmitter and they sabotage it.

Blameless

Professor Lyall spent most of his time taking care of a very drunk Lord Maccon and handling both pack and BUR business. He was also quick to assume that due to Alexia 's pregnancy that she is in danger from the vampires . Lyall had to deal with a Loner coming to challenge Lord Maccon for Alpha of Woolsey Pack . Afterwards, Lyall dove into his investigation of the missing Lord Akeldama. In the end, he helped find and rescue Lord Akeldama's missing drone: Biffy. He was left to take care of the entire mess while Lord Maccon ran off after his wife.

Heartless

Professor Lyall was present for the discussion of Lord Akeldama adopting Lord and Lady Maccon's child. He then helps investigate the supposed threat against the Queen through the BUR offices. During the course of her investigation, Alexia figures out that Lyall was the agent behind the Kingair Affair - manipulated so he could steal Lord Maccon to replace the previous (and insane) Earl of Woolsey. It is also uncovered that Professor Lyall and Alessandro Tarabotti were once lovers. He tells Alexia that he has Alessandro's journals from 1845 on. He reveals that Alessandro was murdered by Lord Woolsey when he tried to kill him for the abuse inflicted upon Lyall. Alexia agrees to keep his secret. Lyall participated in the fight against the octomaton.

Timeless

In Timeless, Lord Maccon becomes aware of the plot Lyall orchestrated to overthrow Woolsey Pack's previous Alpha and lure Lord Maccon to take his place. As Lyall can no longer be trusted by Lord Maccon, he agrees to become Beta to Kingair Pack, replacing Dubh.

In working closely with Biffy over the course of the book, Lyall discovers an attraction for the young dandy werewolf. The two start a relationship, which they plan to put on hold for several decades while Lyall is away in Scotland with the Kingair Pack.

Prudence

In India on army service detail with the Kingair Pack, Professor Lyall introduced himself to Prudence to let her know that he and the Kingair Pack are at her disposal. He later helps her break into the barracks. He is then present in the faceoff against the Vanaras.

Romancing the Werewolf

Lyall returned to London to rejoin the pack, only to find the pack house empty. He worries that in his absence the worst has happened and sets off to find out what occurred. Lyall had spent months in the God-Breaker Plague zone and had thus let his hair grow out as well as a neat beard in response to current fashions. He learns from Lord Akeldama that the pack has moved to Greenwich. He finds his pack Alpha, Biffy, at the Chapeau de Poupe.

They return to the new pack house together to find that an infant has been left on their doorstep. When another small child is abandoned, Lyall takes to wolf from and goes searching for their origins. The only location of note he came upon was an empty warehouse.

They discover a cult of supernatural worshipers has been using the warehouse for meetings and leaving the children on the pack's doorstep as offerings. The pastor, Thaddeus Monday, is an American loner werewolf who challenged Biffy to an Alpha contest. Biffy easily wins.

Biffy and Lyall are able to reconnect.

Trivia

• He is an expert in the field of reproduction of sheep.
• Lyall is a graceful shape-changer, possibly because he exercises great control each full moon and attempts to hold off the change as long as possible.
• In Blameless, Lord Maccon drank all the formaldehyde (which has the same effect on werewolves as alcohol does on humans) from Lyall's specimen collection, and became intoxicated for three days straight.
• Lord Akeldama's nickname for Lyall is "Dolly."
• According to Biffy, Lyall does not like his first name.
• He can smell vampire bloodlines and has one of the best noses in England.
• In the novels, Lyall's first named is spelled "Randolph". In the manga adaptation, however, it is spelled "Randolf".

Links

• Randolph Lyall character study, at Gail's blog.
• Lyall manga art.  
• Pinterest Character Board for Randolph Lyall.  

Images

Lyall manga sketches

Quotes

• "And the mild-mannered sandy-haired professor was actually Beta to the local werewolf pack." (Manners & Mutiny, Crisis Six)
• "The Beta was making an effort to put her at ease, but also trying to determine why three schoolgirls and their chaperone were in the midst of such august company." (Manners & Mutiny, Crisis Six)
• The sandy-haired werewolf had the inventor and the newspaperman down flat on their fronts with him partly on top." (Manners & Mutiny, Crisis Seven)
• "Professor Lyall, the Beta in question, was a slight, sandy-haired gentleman of indeterminate age and pleasant disposition, as agreeable, in fact, as his Alpha was sour. He grinned at her and doffed his hat, which was of first-class design and sensible material. His cravat was similarly subtle, for, while it was tied expertly, the knot was a humble one." (Soulless, Chapter One)
• "Professor Lyall, unobserved by the other two, was busy fishing about in his waistcoat for something. Eventually, he produced a mildly beaten-up ham and pickle sandwich wrapped in a bit of brown paper. He presented it to Miss Tarabotti, ever the gallant." (Soulless, Chapter One)
• "Professor Lyall had a well-developed sense of self-preservation and the distinct feeling that if he said anything desultory about the young lady's appearance, he might actually get his head bitten off." (Soulless, Chapter One)
• "Lyall had been Beta to the fourth Earl of Woolsey since Conall Maccon first descended upon them all." (Soulless, Chapter One)
• "Professor Lyall was no coward, but he was also no idiot." (Soulless, Chapter Three)
• "Professor Randolph Lyall was a professor of nothing in particular and several subjects in broad detail. One of those generalities was a long running study on the typical human behavioral response when faced with werewolf transformation. His research on the subject had taught him it was best to change out of wolf shape away from polite company, preferably in a corner of a very dark alley where the only person likely to see him was equally likely to be crazy or drunk." (Soulless, Chapter Three)
• "Professor Lyall considered himself rather good at the change - elegant and graceful despite the pain... Professor Lyall simply melted smoothly from one form to the next." (Soulless, Chapter Three)
• “His animal form was nondescript but tidy, rather like his favorite waistcoat: his pelt the same sandy color as his hair but with a sheen of black about the face and neck. He was not very big, mostly because he was not a very big human, and the basic principles of conservation of mass still applied whether supernatural or not. Werewolves had to obey the laws of physics just like everyone else.” (Soulless, Chapter Three)
• “All the London ton acknowledged Scotland as a barbaric place. The packs there cared very little for the social niceties of daytime folk. Highland werewolves had a reputation for doing atrocious and highly unwarranted things, like wearing smoking jackets to the dinner table. Lyall shivered at the delicious horror of the very idea.” (Soulless, Chapter Five)
• "Professor Lyall knew his duty." (Soulless, Chapter Six)
• "The Beta smiled. 'It is part of my purpose.' 'To exhaust yourself protecting me?' 'To safeguard his interests." (Soulless, Chapter Six)
• "However, Lyall had been Beta for three consecutive pack leaders, and he was nothing if not discreet." (Soulless, Chapter Seven)
• "Professor Lyall shook his head and made a tut-tutting noise.'Fancy going out into public with a cravat like that." (Soulless, Chapter Seven)
• "I should caution, however, that pack rules are often quite blunt and not necessarily intended for a lady of Miss Hisselpenny's delicacy." (Soulless, Chapter Seven)
• "Floote entered with a tea tray. At a loss for what proper etiquette required, the butler had placed the raw liver in a cut-glass ice-cream dish. Professor Lyall did not seem to care in what form it was presented. He ate it rapidly but delicately with a small copper ice-cream spoon." (Soulless, Chapter Seven)
• "Polite to the last, Professor Lyall collected his hat and coat, donned both, and bowed his farewell from the parlor doorway. Alexia and Ivy were afraid he might topple right over, but he righted himself and made it out the front door and into the Woolsey Castle carriage with only a few stumbles here and there." (Soulless, Chapter Seven)
• "How many Alphas, Lord Maccon wondered, had Professor Lyall watched fall in love?" (Soulless, Chapter Eight)
• "Professor Lyall was sitting suavely on a small three-legged footstool in one corner of his cell, wearing only his ridiculous glassicals and reading the evening paper. He was struggling to slow the change. Most of the pack simply let themselves be taken, but Lyall always resisted as long as he could, testing his will against the inevitability of the moon. Through the heavy iron bars to his Beta's cell, Lord Maccon could see that Lyall's spine was curled forward inhumanly far, and he boasted considerably more hair than was acceptable for any more social occasion than reading the evening paper in the privacy of one's own... prison. The professor gave his Alpha a long look from yellow eyes over the tops of his spectacles." (Soulless, Chapter Ten)
• "Not to mention Lyall and his gossiping.' 'Professor Lyall gossips?' Alexia tore her eyes away from his lovely body to look up into his face. 'Like an old churchyard biddy." (Soulless, Chapter Twelve)
• "Mrs. Loontwill ignored his tone entirely and made a move as if to strike her daughter. 'Alexia! You wanton hussy!' Professor Lyall twisted fast so that his charge, still held in his arms, was well out of the woman's reach and glared furiously." (Soulless, Chapter Fourteen)
• "She would never have accused Professor Lyall of gratuitous musculature. But there he was, assuredly fit." (Changeless, Chapter One)
• "Lyall took that as a hint and turned to go. Unless, of course, he was fleeing from the hat." (Changeless, Chapter One)
• "Professor Lyall looked at his Alpha's mate thoughtfully. It was a rare unguarded look, his face free of its customary glassicals, his mild hazel eyes puzzled." (Changeless, Chapter One)
• "Only Professor Lyall managed a smooth stand, slight bow, and reseat with the consummate grace of a dancer. And all that without losing his place in his newspaper." (Changeless, Chapter Three)
• “Professor Lyall said, 'His lordship did say something about dealing with an embarrassing family emergency.' 'Am I not family?' wondered Lady Maccon. To which Lyall muttered under his breath, 'And often embarrassing.'” (Changeless, Chapter Three)
• "Professor Randolph Lyall was impatient, but no one would ever guess it to look at him. Partly, of course, because currently he looked like a slightly seedy and very hairy dog, skulking about the bins in the alley next to Lord Akeldama's town house." (Changeless, Chapter Five)
• "Alexia often wondered if Professor Lyall had been an actor before metamorphosis and somehow managed to hold on to his creativity despite sacrificing most of his soul for immortality. He was so very skilled at doing, and being, what was expected." (Changeless, Chapter Five)
• “A woman, even a married woman, cannot float without proper escort. It is simply not done.” (Changeless, Chapter Five)
• "Randolph Lyall was old, for a werewolf. Something on the order of three hundred or so. He had long since stopped counting." (Changeless, Chapter Seven)
• "He hated beer, a vile common beverage." (Changeless, Chapter Ten)
• "Professor Lyall, who had never done anything majestically in all his life, faintly envied the man." (Changeless, Chapter Ten)
• “'Useful thing, tea,' commented Lyall thoughtfully.” (Changeless, Chapter Thirteen)
• “Professor Lyall puffed out his cheeks in exasperation. It was like trying to have a conversation with a distracted and very soggy scone. Every time he pushed in one direction the earl either oozed or crumbled.” (Blameless, Chapter Two)
• "Professor Lyall knew Lady Maccon 's character; she might be capable of betraying her husband, but if she had done so, she would admit to it openly. Thus, logic dictated she was telling the truth. Lyall was enough of a scientist to conclude from this that the currently accepted gospel truth, that supernatural creatures could not impregnate mortal women, was flawed." (Blameless , Chapter Two)
• "Lyall was grateful to be out of the sun. He was old enough and strong enough not to be bothered by direct sunlight for short lengths of time, but that didn't mean he enjoyed the sensation. It felt like a tingling buzz just underneath the skin, highly unpleasant." (Blameless, Chapter Two)
• "I can hold the challengers off,' said Professor Lyall with no shame, no modesty, and no boasting. Randolph Lyall might not be as large, nor as overtly masculine, as most werewolves but he had earned the right to be Beta in London's strongest pack. Earned it so many times over and in so many ways that few questioned his right anymore." (Blameless , Chapter Two)
• "Professor Lyall had seen a number of things in his lifetime he hoped never to see again; that look of hopelessness in Alexia's dark eyes was definitely one of them." (Blameless, Chapter Two)
• “Professor Lyall looked modestly proud. "I am considered a bit of an expert on the procreative practices of Ovis orientalis aries.""Sheep?""Sheep.""Sheep!" Madame Lefoux's voice came over suddenly high, as though she were suppressing an inclination to giggle."Yes, as in baaaa." Professor Lyall frowned. Sheep were a serious business, and he failed to see the source of Madame Lefoux's amusement."Let me understand this correctly. You are a werewolf with a keen interest in sheep breeding?" A little bit of French accent trickled into Madame Lefoux's speech in her glee. Professor Lyall continued bravely on, ignoring her flippancy. "I preserve the nonviable embryo in formaldehyde for future study. Lord Maccon has been drinking my samples. When confronted, he admitted to enjoying both the refreshing beverage and the 'crunchy picked snack' as well. I was not pleased.” (Blameless, Chapter Three)
• "Professor Lyall did something quite unusual for him. He colored slightly." (Blameless , Chapter Four)
• “Lyall understood a broken heart, but it could not be allowed to rumple perfectly good shirtwaists.” (Blameless, Chapter Seven)
• "Professor Lyall himself held the rank of lieutenant colonel with the Coldsteam Guards, but had, in the last fifty years, rarely had cause to serve." (Blameless, Chapter Seven)
• "Lyall had spent a good deal of his existence as a werewolf avoiding becoming an Alpha . Not only was his temperament ill-suited to the job, but he had no desire for that kind of physical responsiblity, quite apart from the fact that he was unable to affect Anubis Form." (Blameless , Chapter Seven)
• "At its root, being a werewolf, what with the nudity and the tyranny of the moon, was essentially undignified. And Professor Lyall was rather fond of his dignity." (Blameless, Chapter Seven)
• "Even as a wolf, Professor Lyall did not like to be unkempt." (Blameless, Chapter Seven)
• "Professor Lyall had a good memory, and he recalled the cholera outbreak of twenty years earlier as though it had happened only yesterday. Sometimes he thought he could still smell the sickness in the air. As a result, Soho always caused him to sneeze." (Blameless, Chapter Seven)
• "Lyall was never entirely certain whom he pitied more at his time of the month, them or him. It was the age-old question: who suffers more, the gentleman in the badly tied cravat or those who must look upon him?" (Blameless, Chapter Nine)
• "One would think, after twenty-odd years, Professor Lyall would be used to his Alpha's yelling, but still winced when it was conducted with such vigor close to his ear." (Blameless, Chapter Ten)
• "Professor Lyall was a wolf who liked to look on the practical side of any given situation." (Blameless, Chapter Ten)
• "Professor Lyall winced at the very idea of his tongue having any proximity to the Thames." (Blameless, Chapter Twelve)
• "He was at a loss. Werewolves breathed, but not so deeply, nor so frequently as mortals. He wasn't convinced his next idea would even work. But, blushing furiously - after all, he and Biffy had only met casually a few times; they were hardly on terms of any intimacy - he bent forward and sealed the young man's mouth with his. Breathing out in a powerful blast, he attempted to physically force air into the drone's lungs. Nothing happened. So he did it again. And again." (Blameless, Chapter Twelve)
• "Professor Lyall fished out the offensive bullet, hissing in pain as the vile silver thing burned his fingertips." (Blameless, Chapter Twelve)
• "Professor Lyall, who was cultured and not given to profanity, watched the drones cart the disanimated potentate away and said curtly, "What a bloody awful mess." (Blameless, Chapter Twelve)
• "Oh, yes, certainly, feel free to depart. And me with a drone changed into a werewolf and a dead potentate. I am certain I have had Alphas leave me with worse messes to tidy up, but I cannot recall them at the moment." (Blameless, Chapter Twelve)
• "Lyall held Biffy the entire time. Held him while Tunstell returned with a large raw steak and fussed about with varying degrees of helpfulness. Held him until, eventually, he was left with an armful of nothing but naked Biffy, shivering and looking most forlorn." (Blameless, Chapter Fourteen)
• “Professor Lyall, cursing his Alpha for departing so precipitously, balled up the piece of paper and, after minor consideration for the delicacy of the information it contained, ate it.” (Blameless, Chapter Fourteen)
• "Professor Lyall was an immortal; he knew what it was to lose a loved one." (Blameless, Chapter Fourteen)
• "Professor Lyall nodded, pushing his spectacles up with one finger. They were an affectation - he had no need of them- but they gave him something to hide behind. And something to fiddle with." (Heartless, Chapter One)
• "'Oh, Professor Lyall, are you making a funny? It doesn’t suit you.' The sandy-haired Beta gave Lady Maccon a dour look. 'I am exploring new personality avenues.' 'Well, stop it.' 'Yes, my lady.'” (Heartless, Chapter One)
• "Professor Lyall called upon the sublime confidence of the truly urbane." (Heartless, Chapter One)
• "Professor Lyall possessed infinite patience, whether dealing with Lord Maccon's temper, Lord Akeldama's purposeful obtuseness, or Lady Maccon's antics. Being a Beta, Alexia figured, must be rather like being the world's most tolerant butler." (Heartless, Chapter One)
• "The Beta wandered into the dining room. The Beta was his usual unassuming self - his sandy hair neatly combed; his angular features arranged into a nonthreatening expression; his demeanor quiet, self-effacing, and utterly forgettable. It was an aura that Alexia was beginning to suspect Professor Lyall had cultivated for decades." (Heartless, Chapter Three)
• "It was rather unlike Professor Lyall to disturb them with such forcefulness. It was equally rare for there to be any issue so in need of the earl's attention that his second could not delay the matter or handle the preliminaries himself." (Heartless, Chapter Six)
• "Your Professor Lyall is one of those.' 'One of the indifferent ones?' 'Ah, no petal, one of those who has no particular preferences." (Heartless, Chapter Six)
• "Surely it cannot be so awful as all that. It is only Professor Lyall of whom we speak.' 'Exactly, my plum puff. So few of us can be so easily dismissed as only. I've done some inquiring. They say he never quite recovered from a broken heart." (Heartless, Chapter Six)
• "Randolph Lyall's position at BUR was not held because he was Beta to Lord Maccon, but because of his innate investigative abilities. He had an astute mind and a nose for trouble - literally, being a werewolf." (Heartless, Chapter Eight)
• "Lady Maccon looked, really looked, at her husband's second for the first time in their acquaintance. At the way he stood, shoulders not too straight, gaze not too direct. At the way he dressed, almost to the height of style but with a studied carelessness, the simple knot to his cravat, the reserved cut to his waistcoat. There was just enough not perfect about his appearance as to make him forgettable. Professor Lyall was the type of man who could stand in the center of a group and no one would remember he was there, except that the group would stay together because of him." (Heartless, Chapter Nine)
• "You would do whatever it took to keep your pack together. Even arrange to steal another pack's leader." (Heartless, Chapter Ten)
• "...Lyall's reserve was practically flawless." (Heartless, Chapter Ten)
• "Randolph is different from the rest of us wolves, you do realize? Your father was the love of his life, and we immortals don't say such a thing lightly. Oh, there were others before Sandy - mostly women, I'll have you know.... But Sandy was the last. I worry. It was a quarter of a century ago." (Heartless , Chapter Ten)
• "Things are never good when immortals fall in love. Mortals end up dead, one way or another, and we are left alone again." (Heartless, Chapter Ten)
• "Professor Lyall, wearing an orange velvet curtain wrapped around him like a toga and still looking remarkably dignified, was marshaling the troops and issuing orders." (Heartless, Chapter Sixteen)
• "Biffy looked the Beta over - quiet, unassuming, with excellent if understated taste in waistcoats and a generally put-upon expression." (Timeless , Chapter Five)
• "Everyone has secrets Biffy , even Lyall.' 'Especially Professor Lyall, my lady . I'd say he is keeping a goodly number of everyone else's secrets as well as his own." (Timeless , Chapter Six)
• "He would never have called the Beta handsome, but there was something very appealing in the mildness of his expression." (Timeless , Chapter Eight)
• “Biffy said, off the cuff, 'Or we could find a replacement queen.' 'Volunteering for the position?' 'Why, Professor, is that wittiness I detect?' 'Only for you.' 'Charmer.' Biffy tapped him on the arm playfully.” (Timeless, Chapter Eight)
• "Where is Lyall, the little weasel? I'll see him flayed alive. You see if I don't." (Timeless , Chapter Nine)
• "Did you ken what he did to my pack ? Stole Gramps away from us! Lyall, that jackass. Stole him!" (Timeless , Chapter Nine)
• "But... but... but Professor Lyall never fights." (Timeless , Chapter Nine)
• "If one were to pass the professor in wolf form in the countryside, one might mistake him for some kind of overgrown off-color fox. He was a slender, elegant creature and not one to inspire confidence in battle. Biffy had learned since joining the pack that Professor Lyall's skill lay in his ability to fight smart and in his quickness and dexterity. He was almost beautiful as he battled the Alpha of Kingair , his movements lithe and graceful, calculated, yet impossibly swift." (Timeless , Chapter Nine)
• “Lyall's face went deadpan as he relayed the details, as those who are tortured or raped will become when they retell the pattern of abuse.” (Timeless, Chapter Nine)
• "Biffy had no doubt Professor Lyall was as proud, in his way, as any other man of good breeding and refined tastes." (Timeless , Chapter Nine)
• "Lyall had lovely hands, fine and strong, the hands of an artist who practiced a craft, a carpenter, perhaps, or a baker. Biffy had a sudden fanciful image of Lyall with a smudge of flour on his face, going comfortably into old age with a fine wife and brood of mild-mannered children." (Timeless, Chapter Nine)
• "Lyall wasn't the type to compete." (Timeless , Chapter Nine)
• "When Lyall lay flush against him, nuzzling up into his neck, Biffy thought they fit well together. Not matched colors so much as coordinated, with Lyall a neurtral cream satin, perhaps, and Biffy a royal blue." (Timeless , Chapter Nine)
• "Randolph Lyall, that squirrelly snot-nosed plonker, rigged the whole darn thing : caused Kingair tae betray me, got me tae come tae Woolsey , saw me elminiate his old Alpha . All of it! He never saw fit tae tell me this little fact." (Timeless , Chapter Thirteen)
• "Lyall had just returned from BUR and he smelled like a London night, etching acid, and the Thames." (Timeless, Chapter Thirteen)
• "Professor Lyall knew better than to give Lord Akeldama any more information than was strictly necessary." (Timeless, Chapter Fifteen)
• "Professor Lyall managed, somehow, to make his reply sound like a change in rank, a promise of wickedness, and the approval of a favorite teacher, all in one simple phrase." (Timeless, Chapter Fifteen)
• "The unassuming Englishman gave Rue a little bow. He had sandy hair and pleasing if unmemorable features under a small set of spectacles. His evening attire was perfectly appropriate to the place and venue but nothing more, with no hint of modishness. Everything about him was simple, unadulterated, and proper. Rue was not surprised that she hadn't noticed him when the pack first entered the room. He hadn't wanted her to." (Prudence, Chapter Eight)
• "Professor Lyall wasn't spoken of often by the London Pack , but when they did it was with a respectful wistfulness. Even Uncle Channing , who didn't really like anyone but himself, hadn't a bad word to say about Professor Lyall." (Prudence, Chapter Eight)
• "He turned his back on his Alpha, something only a very strong Beta could do and stay alive." (Prudence, Chapter Eight)
• "Rue inhaled in shock. It was the first time a werewolf had ever offered to share his form without question or restriction." (Prudence, Chapter Eight)
• "Beautifully tied cravat for a werewolf." (Prudence, Chapter Eight)
• "Uncle Lyall didn't resent his honesty being questioned." (Prudence, Chapter Ten)
• "He smelled like the pomade Dama and Uncle Rabiffano favored. Guess it is more popular than I thought. He must import it at great expense. She sniffed deeper. There was also a hint of sandalwood and fresh linens, and perhaps smoked fish on his breath." (Prudence , Chatper Ten)
• "He did not seem at all perturbed to be mortal. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying himself. Hard to tell- he was a master of the impassive." (Prudence, Chapter Ten)
• "Your Uncle Lyall isn't wholly to be trusted." (Prudence, Chapter Fourteen)
• "Lyall had read a fascinating theory once that cats had malleable souls. Or, at the very least, a sense of superiority so strong that they regarded even immortals as their inferiors. Well, who am I to challenge feline judgment?" (Romancing the Werewolf, Chapter Two)
• "Professor Lyall cocked his head, just slightly to the left, exactly as Biffy remembered. Did anyone else notice that he did that only when he was considering his words with extra care?" (Romancing the Werewolf, Chapter Two)
• "He could make civilized conversation with the best of the, but when he had nothing to say, he said nothing." (Romancing the Werewolf, Chapter Six)
• "Sad eyes. Always. Even when Lyall was smiling, or plotting, or fighting, or solving some pack riddle or another, his eyes were always a little sad." (Romancing the Werewolf, Chapter Six)