With this, for the present, Lady Wychcote had to be content.
In the meantime Sophy's second wedding-day was drawing near. Mrs. Loring was to come to Sweet-Waters for the marriage, but there were to be no other guests. She arrived two days before. Every one liked her. And Bobby approved of her. "I like Mr. Loring's muvvah...." he told Sophy. His tone implied deep reticences on the subject of Mrs. Loring's son.
That evening, as Sophy bent over his crib to kiss him good-night, he held her face down to his and said:
"Muvvah, do you love Mr. Loring more than me?"
Sophy dropped to her knees and caught him in her arms.
"No, darling! No, no! I love you both—not one better than the other."
Bobby clung fast to her. Then he whispered:
"S'posin' you had to choose 'right hand—lef' hand'?"
"My precious! People don't choose other people that way. You know, Bobby darling, it's with hearts like the sky and the stars. There's room for all the stars in the sky—there's room for all sorts of different loves in one heart."