Faraway kingdoms, p.1
Faraway Kingdoms, page 1
Faraway Kingdoms
A Maiden Harlow Mystery - Book 7
Camille Sharp
Camille Sharp Books
Copyright © 2025 by Camille Sharp
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permission requests, contact Camille Sharp at author@camillesharpbooks.com.
The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.
NO AI TRAINING: Without in any way limiting the author’s [and publisher’s] exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.
Contents
1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11
12. Chapter 12
13. Chapter 13
14. Chapter 14
15. Chapter 15
16. Chapter 16
17. Chapter 17
18. Chapter 18
19. Chapter 19
20. Chapter 20
21. Chapter 21
22. Chapter 22
23. Chapter 23
24. Chapter 24
25. Chapter 25
26. Chapter 26
27. Chapter 27
28. Chapter 28
29. Chapter 29
Thank you!
Join the fun!
Also by Camille Sharp
About Camille Sharp
Chapter one
“Are you sure you want to go back to that creepy place alone?”
Maiden Harlow glanced up sharply. She’d been minding her own business, digging through her purse for her keys, when the grim question hit her in the face. Her gut reaction was no, but her grown-up reasonableness was managing to hold sway.
She forced herself to smile at their newest part-time employee, Goldie. The peppy nineteen-year-old had thrown herself into the role of receptionist with unabashed zeal. She was already a favorite amongst the guests and seemed to have something nice to say about everyone and everything.
Except for the Harlow’s newest project—transforming an old 1920’s mansion from a faded relic to a luxury hotel and event center. It was an exciting prospect, the old house was remarkable even in its run-down state, it would be amazing once all the hard work was done. They just needed some vision and determination.
In Goldie’s defense, she’d been inundated with tales of the harrowing ordeal of being trapped by a snowstorm with a homicidal killer, courtesy of Maiden’s older sister, Vonny.
Not that Vonny had been the one to ultimately ferret the killer out, nor was Vonny the one they’d become so disturbingly fond of. But such minor niggles were nothing that Von couldn’t gloss over or embellish as required.
The result was that even though two weeks had passed with no fresh corpses or other dramas, Goldie still swore black and blue that she’d never set foot in Riley Manor. Not ever!
Maiden considered the freckled young redhead with a look of patience that she’d mastered years ago when she first started working the front desk at the family’s inn, Harlow House.
“The manor is perfectly safe, Goldie,” she assured her for at least the fifteenth time in fourteen days. “The locks on all the external doors have been changed and everything is very secure.”
“Oh, I don’t know how you can stand it!” Goldie shuddered, tucking deeper into her dark cranberry sweater. “I’d have nightmares at the thought of going back! Didn’t that nut almost kill you?!”
“No, not exactly,” Maiden said quietly as she tried not to be sucked back into the terrifying memories of that weekend. “And everyone involved is either dead or in prison now, so it doesn’t matter anymore. Anyway, I’m going to start on cleaning up the library today. It’s a huge job, so please tell Mom I’d love some help, whenever she finishes her coffee and heads downstairs.”
“Will do!” Goldie gave a teasing salute and went back to wiping down the desk. She hummed happily to herself, clearly having forgotten about murderous lunatics in favor of cleaning the fingerprints off the laminate worksurface.
Maiden took advantage of the opportunity to escape without more gruesome cautions. She slipped through the office and outside into a sunny, frigidly cold Michigan December. Her breath curled in a whisp as she shut the door and glanced around the parking lot. There was a thin layer of fresh, powdery snow giving everything an air of pristine tranquility.
Maiden quickly reached her car, quietly grateful to whoever had gotten up even earlier than her to sprinkle salt on the sidewalks. She climbed into her car and started the engine, giving it a few moments to warm up. While she waited, she thought more about what Goldie had said.
To herself, at least, Maiden admitted that it wasn’t easy walking back into Riley Manor after the blood-drenched nightmare they’d all been through. It all started when a film company tried to use their new mansion as the set for a horror movie. The resulting murders had been real and far more terrifying than anything in the script.
However, even with the generous bankroll of her Aunt Bella, Maiden’s family had invested most of their savings into this project. She couldn’t just refuse to have anything to do with it, no matter how chilling her experience there had been. She needed to work hard to help get Riley Manor on its feet and paying its own way, that’s all there was to it.
She glanced down at her purse and smiled at the thin leather-bound volume that peeked back out at her. The diary of Helena Riley, the last mistress of Riley Manor, was a treasure that she was still grateful she’d found.
Helena’s story was one that she was eager to keep unraveling. Although she hadn’t had the nerve to read any more of it since that eventful weekend that they’d been trapped in the manor. She was planning the rectify that today.
She would start on the library, do some good solid work, and then make herself a coffee and read a bit more of Helena’s diary. It would be good for her. She’d put a few fears to rest and learn more about someone that was quickly becoming one of her favorite people.
Once some warm air was wheezing through the vents, Maiden pulled out of the parking lot and started towards the manor. As it was located on the outskirts of town, it was a fairly long drive. The road leading to the manor was narrow and liberally dusted with potholes, it had an abandoned and isolated feel.
That same remoteness that had at first been appealing was now oddly disconcerting. Especially when a light dusting of snow started to fall. For a moment Maiden almost panicked.
What do I do if I get snowed in again? Alone!? she thought for a wild moment before taking a deep breath and smiling at herself. I’ll drive home in a panic, get wedged in a snowbank and die a slow, frigid death. You goose! You’re not going to get snowed in; don’t be stupid. Even if you did, there’s no one else in the house. Definitely. It’s totally safe now.
She knew that the best cure for her fears was to transform the manor into a clean, cheerful haven of luxury and beauty. And to make sure her butt was safely back at Harlow House before dark.
Maiden was smiling and shaking her head at herself by the time she pulled onto the long cobblestone driveway that led to their beautiful mansion. It was time to stop jumping at shadows and get to work.
David sat at his desk in the Golden Glen police station and re-read the latest email from his superior, Deputy Chief Clinton Boswell. It was a very brief confirmation that he would be arriving in town in a little over two weeks. Just in time for David and Maiden to be back from a trip to visit Maiden’s aunt, Bella.
The boisterous southern belle had invited them after hearing about the lunatic she’d unwittingly unleashed on the whole family. Not that anyone blamed her at all, she couldn’t have known that the movie crew she’d agreed to let film at the manor included a psychopath. Bella, however, was deeply horrified and felt partly responsible.
To make amends, Bella first made sure their filming contract was paid out, and then insisted on treating Maiden and himself to a week at her mansion in Seashell Cove, Florida. Who was he to refuse a lady?
To be honest, taking a week off right before his boss turned up to scrutinize his performance in his relatively new role wasn’t the wisest course of action. But the thought of getting away from the snow and seeing his beautiful girlfriend poured into a bikini was more than enough to overrule wisdom.
David had already decided to make sure everything was as ready as it could be and then put the chief’s looming visit right out of his head until they got back from Florida. There really was only so much he could do anyway.
Hopefully, Boswell would have better things to do than worry about the rumors that had sprung to life since he’d been posted in Golden Glen. Particularly since he’d been doing good work.
There had been a spate of murders but every case had been solved. The evidence had been collected and handled appropriately. Procedure had been followed throughout…mostly.
The only real blemish on his record was, ironically, Maiden. Her almost uncanny talent for getting involved with murder cases was matched only by her talent for solving them.
Not that he’d just sat back and done nothing himself. But the local gossips, which included the idiots that wrote for the town paper, preferred to focus on Maiden to the exclusion of almost everyone else. Including a lot of hardworking cops that didn’t risk their lives for accolades; it was just part of the job for them.
David pushed away a nagging feeling of irritation. He really didn’t blame Maiden, she never tried to grab any personal glory, she was just doing what she thought was right. It was the people that insisted on skewing the facts as much as possible to stroke their hometown pride. It was annoying but not serious. He hoped it wouldn’t be too serious, at least.
His eyes drifted down to another email. This one was from his colleagues in the nearby city of Westfield and was detailing an entirely different problem, one that was even more unwelcome. Drugs.
Police in Westfield, and a few other towns that bordered them, had seen a rash of drug-related crimes. In David’s last assignment, the bustling industrial metropolis of Stanton, drugs were an ongoing problem. He’d been involved in so many busts that he’d lost track of them.
That was one of the reasons he’d chosen to move to Golden Glen. He’d quickly grown to love the peaceful little tourist town and he wasn’t about to let any drug syndicates set up shop. He didn’t fool himself that the town could ever be completely immune, but it wasn’t going to become a thoroughfare for those lowlifes. No way.
He'd started to sink into bad memories of the old days but glanced down at his phone when it started to ring. For a moment he stared in surprise at the name that flashed up, but then he grinned and quickly answered it.
“Diane?” he asked. “Wow, am I glad to hear from you!”
“I know, it’s been way too long!” Her confident voice, which sounded a little rougher than he remembered, rang out clearly over the line. “I’m going to be passing through Golden Glen for a few days and wondered if you had time to catch up with your old teacher?”
“Of course! Diane, that’s great!” David said happily. “I can’t believe it! Actually…there’s someone I’d really love to introduce you to…”
Maiden had had enough of moldering books and dusty shelves for one morning. She walked resolutely to the kitchen, washed the film of grime off her hands, and poured a cup of coffee. She’d made some reasonable progress and felt like she had more than earned a break.
She settled on a stool at the large kitchen island and took a moment to sip her coffee before opening Helena’s diary. She quickly found the place where she’d left off and continued reading.
The snows have come. It reminds me of home in some ways. Strange that when I think of home, I think of somewhere far away from here. I had hoped to find peace in this house and with Edward. Perhaps I still could, but I am not as certain as I once was.
My love for him continues to be strong but I feel more and more that I am married to two men rather than one. The Edward I met and agreed to marry was kind and funny, he used to make me laugh, to make me forget the things that still pain me. But there is another man within him, one that comes out when he is angry or drunk, this man does not cherish me. I would never have married this man.
It hurts me deeply to confess that.
I begin to wonder if I have made a mistake. I ran away with Edward hoping for a fresh start, a new beginning in a land I didn’t know. Not only have I not found peace but my old problems may well have followed me.
I went into town today and I saw two men whispering to each other as they looked at me. It may have been nothing, but a lady in the market said someone had asked about me. I must take great care and I must never tell Edward, he would never understand and I don’t know what he would do.
Maiden felt both saddened and chilled as she read Helena’s somber, anxious words. As far as she could tell, Helena didn’t live a long and prosperous life, the Riley line ended with her and Edward. There were no children to take up ownership of the house. That was part of the reason that Maiden and her family now owned it.
Helena’s slowly changing views of her husband were a far cry from the besotted young wife that had mused about her great love at the start of the journal. It felt like a lifetime ago now. And it was, in a way; it was Helena’s lifetime.
Maiden again wondered what had become of the young woman. The few rumors that had persisted over the years suggested that she’d simply vanished around the same time that Edward shot himself. Some took things a step further, suggesting that Helena had actually killed him and then disappeared.
But the tone of her writing made it sound as though she were afraid of something, or at least wary. Maiden wondered about the men she’d mentioned seeing in the markets. Who did Helena think they might be?
She was so lost in these grim thoughts that she jumped and barely bit back a startled shriek when her phone rang. She sucked in a deep breath and glanced down at the screen.
“Hi, David.” She smiled and shook her head at herself as she answered.
“Hey, gorgeous.” His tone was warm and pleased. “Are you free tonight?”
“For you? Always,” she replied.
“Great!” He sounded excited. “My favorite teacher from my academy days is visiting for a few days, I really want you to meet each other. How does dinner tonight sound?”
“Oh, that would be great.” Maiden smiled at the unexpected invitation. “I’m always happy to get a little more insight into your life before you met me.”
“You’ll get it all right,” David laughed. “Hopefully we won’t bore you!”
Chapter two
Maiden finished her grubby work at the manor in plenty of time to get home and shower away the thin coating of greasy dirt that she’d accumulated through the day. She had known that the library was always going to be a challenging room but it had great potential.
At some point she would have to check and see which books were salvageable but there were hundreds of them lining the floor to ceiling shelves. A proper sorting out would have to wait until some of the bigger jobs were done.
She had changed into her favorite jeans and a deeply green sweater before heading out to meet David at a restaurant across town. It was a clear and frosty night, the sky glistened with beautiful stars. As she drove to Connor’s Place, an Irish-styled pub that she and David had discovered a few weeks ago, she wondered what David’s old friend was like.
All she knew at this point was that the lady’s name was Diane and she’d never heard David so happy about seeing anyone. Maiden smiled faintly and found herself looking forward to an evening of sipping wine and getting to know David and this remarkable Diane a bit better. It was going to be fun.
She parked close and hurried inside. It was icy cold and the wind was merciless as it tried to work its way through her clothes. She pulled her coat tighter and pushed through the door, immediately grateful for the warmth she found inside.
David was already there. He was waiting at a cozy corner table and stood as she walked across the room. She met his welcoming smile with one of her own and slipped off her coat. He pulled her close and kissed her the instant she was within reach.
“Hey, baby. Thanks for coming,” he whispered warmly as he released her and pulled out the chair beside his. “Diane’s not here yet, but we are a little early.”
“Have you been here long?” Maiden asked with a wry smile; she wasn’t sure she’d ever seen him so eager.
“About fifteen minutes.” He shrugged like it was nothing. “I didn’t want to risk her turning up and no one being here to meet her.”
“She’s not that fragile, is she?” Maiden gave him a teasing look.
“Diane? Fragile?!” He started laughing and shook his head. “No way! She was one of the toughest teachers in the academy. She was so smart and quick and strong that most of the new recruits were scared to death of her.”
