Well, there was the first wrinkle in how Ford expected things to go: he couldn't flatly deny whatever Tycho had heard, because it turned out that what Tycho had heard was true — or at least near enough to the realm of possibility that Ford couldn't deny it in good faith. But Ty's tone implied that he was assuming more than he'd said. He was using go mad as a euphemism, maybe; he certainly thought that something had happened beyond just Ford making eyes at Miss Chang at the party. The tremor in his voice said as much, because Tycho wouldn't have been this upset if he'd thought it was confined to feelings, Ford imagined. He could easily have been angry about Ford sleeping with someone else, or even kissing someone else, but he was not (Ford had decided) invested enough to care if Ford was only flirting.

"I didn't do anything, mad or otherwise," he promised. "But I'll need to know who's paying enough attention to my gazes to decide one is abject adoration." A slight attempt to lighten the mood; he assumed that the choice of phrase was Tycho's own (slightly melodramatic) embellishment.

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