Every morning when I get up I have to say solemnly to myself three times , ` You 're an old maid , Nancy Rogerson , ' to tone myself down to anything like a becoming attitude for the day . '' `` I guess you do n't mind being an old maid much , '' said Louisa , shrugging her shoulders . She would not have been an old maid herself for anything ; yet she inconsistently envied Nancy her freedom , her wide life in the world , her unlined brow , and care-free lightness of spirit . `` Oh , but I do mind , '' said Nancy frankly . `` I hate being an old maid . '' `` Why do n't you get married , then ? '' asked Louisa , paying an unconscious tribute to Nancy 's perennial chance by her use of the present tense . Nancy shook her head . `` No , that would n't suit me either . I do n't want to be married . Do you remember that story Anne Shirley used to tell long ago of the pupil who wanted to be a widow because ` if you were married your husband bossed you and if you were n't married people called you an old maid ? ' Well , that is precisely my opinion . I 'd like to be a widow . Then I 'd have the freedom of the unmarried , with the kudos of the married . I could eat my cake and have it , too . Oh , to be a widow ! '' `` Nancy ! '' said Louisa in a shocked tone . Nancy laughed , a mellow gurgle that rippled through the garden like a brook . `` Oh , Louisa , I can shock you yet .
That was just how you used XXXXX say ` Nancy ' long ago , as if I 'd broken all the commandments at once . ''
Rogerson by for in kudos like of through to with