Now Sheffield knew only this: Chamberlain, the Colonial Secretary, would almost certainly replace U.S. agricultural exports with grain from the colonies. As for how many would die in India—the Empire's brightest jewel—the gentlemen of the British homeland naturally would never know. And the devout, karma-bound Indians, awaiting rebirth, surely wouldn't trouble the Empire with their suffering.
*Before the blood of Indians runs dry, the British Empire will never surrender!*
Churchill, though he later kicked Chamberlain's son off the prime ministerial throne, was in this regard a faithful student of Chamberlain's ideology.
After nearly two months in Europe, Sheffield had made no progress on agricultural exports. Britain's market was now lost, and if the U.S. remained aloof from European affairs, France and Tsarist Russia—both major grain exporters—would further erode America's share.
Sheffield consoled himself: *This day was inevitable.* He'd already decided to pivot away from reliance on agricultural exports. Food was a necessity—people would always eat—and eventually, solutions would emerge.
Rubbing his temples, Sheffield regained his composure. His greed for profit without loss had blinded him. Even if he were a once-in-a-generation genius, America's current power couldn't let him swagger abroad. With true superpower backing, he'd have recreated the Toshiba or Alstom incidents himself.
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"I'm returning home. I'll drop you in Paris on the way," Sheffield sighed. Touring Europe with a Frenchwoman wasn't why he'd come. With no path forward, retreat was wisest.
Anne's smile faded. The room fell silent. She hadn't imagined him a soulmate, but this prolonged intimacy—tacitly approved by both families—now ended with his abrupt departure.
"Am I ugly? Or do you prefer men?" Her eyes pierced his.
"Don't be absurd," he replied stiffly. "You're French; I'm American. I came for business, not romance. Unlike my father, I won't idle in Paris. We're different people."
Sheffield despised France's cavalier attitudes toward affairs and prostitution. Just because his father reveled in Parisian decadence didn't mean he would.
"Should I bed you and abandon you? Leave you to marry another while I cringe at the memory?" His gaze hardened. "Your circles treat loyalty as optional. In America, my women would know their place."
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Before leaving London, Lord Osbourne offered hollow apologies: "We're both of British stock. Let this not mar our friendship."
Sheffield's smile was ice. *One day, when Britain falters, this debt will be repaid.*
Secretary of State Olney's tough rhetoric had been swatted aside by British politicians. To them, America's naval posturing was comical—a "backwater nation" whose fleet Britain could crush with a detachment. Chamberlain's faction pushed for a warning, but Salisbury dismissed it, claiming Britain "respected the Monroe Doctrine" while militarizing Guyana.
Olney's bluster, like Sheffield's export hopes, evaporated.
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"Ever heard ....." Sheffield asked aide Russell Kant grimly as their ship departed. "....Weak nations have no diplomacy ?"
Kant, mistaking Sheffield's fury over trade losses for patriotic anguish, nodded fiercely.
patreon.com/thebigbang007 (coffee??)*(End of Chapter)*
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