Viola did go into town to call home the following day. Bill was kind enough to let her use his office to provide a little bit of privacy. Viola was grateful for that, as more than one tear fell as she talked to her father. As she suspected, William Thatcher thought that perhaps she should travel to England and be the grieving widow for a little while before coming home to Hamilton. Taking Elizabeth's advice, Viola had told her father about finding out that Sir Lionel was cheating on her and that she did not want to go to England and pretend everything had been fine when it had not. Nor did she was to drag Sir Lionel's reputation through the mud by bringing his infidelity to light.

"I am sorry you had to go through that dear," her father had surprised her by saying. "Nothing more about you going to England will be said. I will pass along my own condolences to the family and handle the legal affairs for you and Margaret. I will see that the two of you inherit enough to be comfortable. That is what is right and proper. Will you be coming home?"

It had taken her a few moments to get over her surprise at her father not only going along with her wishes not to play the part society expected of her but to ask if she was coming home instead of demanding. When she had gotten over the surprise, she had told him that she planned on staying with Elizabeth for a little while. She still worried about the expectations that would be put upon her in Hamilton. As much as Viola had once loved the status given to her by her father and then her husband, right now she wasn't feeling much to living up to expectations. Hope Valley held no expectations for her. Her sister and brother-in-law had told her she could stay as long as she wanted to. She knew that all they expected from her was to be polite to them, their children and friends. That Viola knew she could manage.

On Saturday, Nathan had planned to take Jack and Ally fishing. Not much for fishing herself, Elizabeth had put a bag and her journal in a bag and packed them a picnic lunch. Elizabeth had invited Viola and Margaret to join them. Having already surprised them with her visit, Viola thought it was best to let them have that time alone.

"Margaret and I will be fine here," Viola had assured her sister. "I should probably get our clothes properly cleaned now that you have taught me how to use the wash tub," she had commented having refused to let her sister clean the laundry that had piled up in their traveling. Her sister was her hostess, not her servant. Though she had some learning to do, Viola planned on making herself useful during her visit.

So, while the Grants were out fishing and picnicking, Viola worked on the laundry in the wash tubs that Nathan had filled for her. He had told her just to leave them when she was finished and he would empty them when they got back. Out of curiosity, Viola had attempted to move one of wash tubs and was immediately thankful for her brother-in-law's consideration.

Margaret had spent a little time watching her mother doing the unfamiliar task. The little girl had even played with the suds a bit but had soon lost interest. As she started to explore the yard, Viola had cautioned her daughter not to wander far. She had also told Margaret not to go in the direction of the house being built next door as the men were working on the house that day. It was something that she could see attracting Margaret's curiosity but an easy way for the little girl to get hurt.

Viola's back soon began to hurt from scrubbing and rinsing the garments. Deciding to move around a bit before finishing the washing, Viola stood. Margaret was near a patch of wildflowers on the edge of the yard opposite the side that bordered the adjacent property where the house was being built. The little girl's attention was focused on something, probably an insect crawling on the flowers, though Viola could not see what. Having warned her daughter to leave bees alone in their own gardens, Viola did not feel compelled to take a closer look. Margaret had learned to mind that piece of advice after being stung last fall.

After stretching her arms over her head, and stretching out her back, Viola picked up the basket of clean wet garments. She watched her daughter as she made her way to the clothesline. Getting closer to the girl and the patch of flowers, Viola saw a flutter of color and realized Margaret was watching a butterfly.

Placing her basket down near the bag of clothespins that hung on the line, Viola began to hang the garments like she had seen Elizabeth do. Her sister, and all their servants in the past, had always made the task look so simple but Viola could just hear both Elizabeth and Julie's laughter in her head as she struggled with the task. It was harder than it seemed.

Viola got focused on her task and forgot to check on Margaret for a few minutes. Remembering her daughter, Viola looked toward the flower patch. Margaret was not there. As panic rose within her, Viola looked around the yard frantically.

"Margaret," Viola called out, walking aimlessly around the yard, her eyes searching for any sign of her daughter.

Where had Margaret gotten to in such a short time?

When Lee had asked for volunteers to put in time on Saturday, Dylan had not hesitated to volunteer. It was not like he had much of a social life. Yes, he chatted with some of his fellow workers during work hours and he and Bill had talked some over dinners, but for the most part, Dylan spent his off hours in his room reading, reflecting and praying. Besides, working would keep his mind off of the dinner with Nathan and his family after church on Sunday.

He was unloading a new wagon of lumber when a woman's voice reached his ears.

"Margaret! Where are you?"

Following the sound of the voice, Dylan noticed a woman he didn't recognize in his brother-in-law's yard. He figured this was Elizabeth's sister that Nathan had told him was visiting so that he would not be surprised on Sunday. She continued to call out as she looked around frantically. Something wasn't right.

"Lee," Dylan said, looking to where his boss and Curt were going over their records to check that the materials needed were on the site. This seemed like a good time to interrupt his boos.

The two men stopped talking and looked up at Dylan. Though Lee had a questioning look on his face, there were no signs of annoyance at being interrupted. Dylan had a feeling it took quite a bit to get his boss annoyed.

As he still held some planks of lumber, Dylan nodded in the direction of the other property. "Should we go see what is going on?" he asked.

Lee looked in the woman's direction as she called out again. Placing the Shannon Arch File board, he held on the seat he pointed to the rest of the lumber still on the wagon. Figuring his boss wanted him to put the boards back, Dylan did that as Lee addressed his foreman for the project.

"Curt, go round up the other men and met me over there. Something is wrong."

"Of course," Curt replied moving away.

"Let's go see what is going on," Lee said, addressing Dylan.

Dylan followed his boss without hesitation. The two men covered the distance in long, swift strides.

"Viola, what is wrong?" Lee asked as they approached the woman. Closer now, the distress was clear on her face.

"Margaret was playing by the patch of wildflowers while I was hanging laundry. It was only a few moments that I wasn't paying attention to her but when I looked over she had disappeared," Viola said. "Oh, I have got to find her."

"We'll find her," Lee assured her, reaching out to lay a comforting hand on her arm. "Where did you see her last?"

Viola answered the question, tears finally falling from her eyes as she did so. Lee took out a handkerchief and handed it to her with no further comment about the tears.

"What was she wearing?"

"She had on a lavender dress, trimmed with white lace. Black shoes. She had a lavender bow tied in her hair."

"Have you checked the house?"

Looking to the house, Viola shook her head. "You think she would have gone inside?"

"It is possible," Lee said. "How about you go look through the house thoroughly and we will start looking out here. It hasn't been long. Margaret could not have gotten far. After you check the house, stay in the yard in case she comes back. Can you do that?"

Viola nodded and headed toward the house.

"Do you think the child went inside?" Dylan asked as they began to be joined by the other men working on the house.

Lee shook his head. "No," he replied. "Most likely she wandered into the woods surrounding the property. But searching the house gives Viola something to do and keeps her from wandering these woods and getting lost herself."

Looking around the gathered men, Lee began giving instruction. He relayed the information that he had and gave them a brief description of Margaret, including what she was wearing. Leading the group to where Viola said she had last seen Margaret, Lee instructed the men to spread out and search the woods, trying to stay within shouting distance of each other.

With a chorus of acknowledgment, the workers started to spread out. Dylan picked a direction not chosen my someone else. He kept his eyes peeled for a splash of purple against the natural colors of the woods. Shouts of "Margaret" were staggered periodically, some louder than others. Dylan hoped the noise they were making did not scare the girl and drive her further from them.

Not far in, Dylan spotted a lavender piece of fabric in low in the underbrush. Reaching it, he figured it was the ribbon for the bow, Viola had said her daughter was wearing. Dylan's thoughts went to Ave and her daughter. The widow and child had sparked a protective instinct in him. If it was Alexia lost in these woods he would not stop until he found the girl. He vowed the same for Margaret.

Ribbon in hand, Dylan looked around carefully before moving on. "Margaret," he called out, hoping the child was still close enough to hear him. In the silence that followed the call, he listened for a reply. An echo of his call from other searchers was the only words he heard. He continued on, listening and searching.

A few steps later, the sound of a child crying reached his ears. Not wanting to startle the child into moving away from him, Dylan refrained from calling out. Instead, he followed the sound. Moving around a large tree, he found the little girl huddled in between two large visible roots of the big tree. She was curled in on herself, making herself as small as possible.

"Margaret," Dylan said softly, not wanting to frighten the scared child more. "I am Dylan. Your mommy sent me looking for you," he said, as he approached slowly.

Margaret did not look up. "I want, Mommy," she whimpered.

Now squatting in front of the child, Dylan refrained from reaching out immediately. Echoes of the girl's name sounded around him. Until he had her in his arms though Dylan did not want to shout that he found her.

"Can I pick you up and take you to her, Margaret?" Dylan asked.

The girl looked at him with eyes glistening with tears. She simply nodded and Dylan reached out to gather the child in his arms. She did not put her arms around him, but Margaret did huddle close and rested her head against him. Covering the ear not pressed against his chest, Dylan turned his head and shouted out, "I found her."

The shouts of her name were soon quickly changed to "she's been found," as the news traveled among the searchers. With the little girl in his arms, Dylan headed back to his brother-in-law's home. By the time he came out of the woods into the yard, other searchers had joined them. As soon as Viola, who had been standing in the yard, saw him with her daughter she rushed forward.

"Oh, thank you," Viola half sobbed as she reached out for her daughter.

"You are welcome," Dylan told her as her surrendered the girl, who immediately buried her face in her mother's neck. "I did not see any obvious injuries but you probably still want to look her over."

Viola's relieved expression changed to worry once again. Before Dylan could say anything to reassure her, Lee spoke up.

"How about we take Margaret inside and be sure there are no bumps or scrapes," Lee suggested. "We will go from there."

Viola nodded.

"Curt, can you get the men back to work and finish the inventory."

"Sure thing," Curt replied.

As Lee led Viola into the house, Dylan started following Curt and the other men across the yard and back to the work site. He had not gotten far when he noticed the unfinished laundry. After getting permission from Curt, Dylan broke from the other men. He would finish the laundry and empty the wash tubs before resuming work on the Coulter house.