Chapter 19: The Privilege of Wealth  

As spring 1895 arrived, Northern residents of the Union noticed the season seemed delayed—a stark contrast to Texas's balmy breezes. Yet the lingering chill carried its own heat: a rising tide of patriotism. 

Federal and state governments worked tirelessly to convince citizens that the economic depression stemmed not from domestic failure but from British imperialist bullying of Venezuela, America's "hemispheric sibling." Newspapers spun elaborate theories—Britain's Caribbean ambitions threatened to strangle American commerce, trapping goods domestically and dooming the Union to weakness. 

Even society's elite echoed the alarm. "Lose Latin American markets," they warned, "and this depression becomes permanent." For once, Yankees and Dixie stood united against a common foe—though Sheffield suspected this harmony would evaporate faster than morning dew. 

—— 

Sheffield boarded the train from Arlington, transferring in Dallas for Austin to complete his dwindling academic obligations. He briefly considered visiting the family's firearms plant in Habsburg but dismissed the idea. The Sheffield empire's sprawling holdings—from Austin to Houston, San Antonio to the Arlington headquarters nestled between Dallas and Fort Worth—revealed generations of voracious ambition. This geographic gluttony, he mused, must have been his late grandfather's doing—a man who claimed territory like a chess master hoarding pawns. 

The journey proved uneventful. Sheffield tolerated his entourage of bodyguards with practiced grace—orphans raised by the family after their fathers died in service. Their loyalty reminded him uncomfortably of Soviet-era indoctrination tactics, though he kept this thought to himself. 

—— 

At Austin Station, two men's heated debate cut through the platform's murmur: 

"Britain wants to strangle us! Their financial attacks caused this depression!" 

"Damn imperialists! If I could enlist tomorrow..." 

Sheffield checked his pocket watch, tuning out the economic conspiracies. His bodyguard leaned in: "Shall I silence them, sir?" 

"Let them bark," Sheffield waved dismissively. "Blame-shifting beats admitting our elites fleece the populace." 

—— 

The University of Texas at Austin loomed ahead—a citadel of Texas politics where future governors and lobbyists mingled. Outside its iron gates, a teenage boy pointed excitedly to his golden-haired sister: 

"I'll study here someday!" 

"You will!" The girl beamed. 

Their moment shattered as a black German shepherd leapt from an arriving carriage, followed by Sheffield adjusting his silk cravat. The boy bristled: "Your damn dog scared her!" 

Sheffield peered over his spectacles. "Did my wheels graze your hem? No? Then save your theatrics." 

"You rich bastards think you own the streets?" The boy spat. 

"Precisely." Sheffield's smile chilled. "Money buys consequences—or lack thereof." His gaze lingered on the sister. "Charming child. When you *finally* enroll here, tell them you know William Sheffield. Though..." He gestured as his hound trotted past campus guards unimpeded, "...my dog enters more easily than you ever will." 

"Remember this, Sheffield!" The boy shouted at his retreating back. 

"Ah, youth's empty defiance." Sheffield called without turning. "How quaint." 

The girl watched him vanish through the gates, fingers twisting her sunlit hair. Her brother fumed: "Just a spoiled heir! I'll—" 

"—Outshine him?" She bit her tongue, swallowing the truth: *That heir just proved privilege opens every door.* 

--- 

(End of Chapter)