After chastising Lavinia for upsetting Lottie, Sara plans a tea party to befriend everyone at the Seminary. Out with Ermengarde to buy provisions for the party, she makes a point of including Becky. Jessie and Gertrude, glad that Sara is not snubbing them, tell her what they really think of Lavinia. Lavinia recognizes the Headmistress's greed, and her complaining chills the party; however, the Headmistress is delighted to learn that Sara's father has invested in possibly lucrative diamond mines which are expected to provide for Sara well into adulthood. To Sara, though, the diamond mines are little different from gambling in a casino.