A few months later, Maria found herself in one of the upper rooms of the house, looking out the window and watching a delighted Loveday and Benjamin help William crawl around the front lawn. She was so deep in thought she didn't hear her governess come in.

"Are you quite all right, dear? You look so sad..."

"Oh! Miss Heliotrope, I have absolutely no idea what to do! I want to have a child! So desperately I want to hold a baby in my arms and know its my own, but I don't know the first thing about raising a child! And where would Robin and I stay? How would we provide for the baby?"

Miss Heliotrope, undaunted by Maria's outburst, declared, "I know exactly how you feel! When your mother died, I hadn't the slightest idea of how to care for you! When it finally dawned on my that I was the only person to care for you, I couldn't handle it, I broke down sobbing next to your cradle. It was then that you helped me. As a little baby, you heard crying and decided to cry, too. I heard you and was absolutely flustered. I had no idea what to do! I never had a child of my own, but I couldn't just let you sit there and cry. At first, you cried even more when I held you, but I started to rock you back and forth and hum a lullaby." Miss Heliotrope took Maria's hands in her own. "My maternal instincts took over, I was able to calm you down, and eventually, raise you to be the proper woman you are today. What I'm saying is that a baby may seem like a daunting thing. It's a being that depends solely on your ability to care for it, and that's a downright terrifying thing. But when you hold a baby in yours arms, one that depends on you, not your aunt and uncle, a baby that depends on you will change your entire perspective on life. Yes, it may be scary, no, it will be scary, but you will know what to do. You're not alone either, you have your aunt and uncle, the village, Robin, and a whole castle full of de Noirs who all adore and only want to see you succeed. When you have that baby, not if, when, you will know what to do."

Maria tearfully turned to the only mother she had ever known. "You're forgetting one person... you. You've have been by my side through everything, and I truly mean everything. My mother's death I wasn't old enough to remember, my childhood without a father figure, my father's death, the move here to Moonacre, breaking the curse of the valley, my marriage. You are the only person who has always been there. Thank you!" Maria flung herself into her governess's arms, sobbing. "You have done so much for me! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Miss Heliotrope, taken aback by this sudden outburst of appreciation, slowly started rubbing Maria's back, eyes tearing up of their own accord. She was so proud of the little red-haired baby that had grown into a fine wife and would be an amazing mother.

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Okay, I know it's been awhile. I'm sorry, but I got a sudden burst of motivation, and I knew I had to update for my loyal readers. Thank you all for all of the votes and comments. This chapter is dedicated to @booksandhottea15 for her comment. It might sound stupid but it made me laugh and cheered me up on a bad day. Well, I hope you guys like this chapter. I wanted to expand more on Miss Heliotrope's character and show the relationship between her and Maria. I'm going to try to update more frequently now because it's summer. Right now, I have my motivation back thanks to this guy I like. My two best friends and another close friend think he might like me. Last week, one of my best friends said he texted her asking for my snapchat, and he added me. I added him back and we've been talking. Kind of a lot, too. So part of me wants to tell him about this and have him read it, but then he would see this and know he's the one I'm talking about. I have mentioned it once before, but I don't think he did. If he did, that would be so awkward. I mean, he could read this when I post it... Oh well. When I mentioned it, I was bragging on you guys, my awesome readers! Okay, I just needed to have someone know how I'm feeling right now. I'm done talking now. I'll try to update soon. See you guys later!

Vote and comment, please.