She would have refused him politely had they been standing together on the ground, but, looking down at his upturned face, she felt that any excuse would be trivial.

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Ms. Coffey said she was so upset with Mr. Koch that she refused to speak to him for three days.

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Mr Bridger told her on the site that he knew her father but she refused to be friends with him.

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Since then she has pointedly refused to give him her public blessing.

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He also said he wanted her to tell her family about him, but she refused.

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He once refused to speak to his wife for several months because she told him to put on a winter coat.

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He said a man who called him last month claiming to be one of the kidnappers had refused to let him speak to his sister - which would prove that she and her partner were still alive.

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But she said when she asked to see him "even for two minutes to see he was alright" her request was refused.

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Also known as Mother Lupita, she hid the Guadalajara archbishop in an eye clinic for more than a year after fearful local Catholic families refused to shelter him.

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