Mikhail collected the letter and carefully tucked it back into the stack before he finally answered her.

"My family was betrayed. Elizabeth I took advantage ofmy ancestorand drugged his wine and tricked him into revealing where he'd stored the jewels. My ancestor was forced into prison but he never forgot what she did with the jewels."

"But why?" Piper asked. "It wasn't out of some kind of greed, was it?"

Mikhail considered his words. "No. She believed herself to ...