In 1888 he refused a request to return to government.

And what would she do if he refused her request?

If I had refused her request, who knows what she might have done?

This was the first time I'd ever refused such a request.

He didn't know how to refuse a request like that.

But there was no good reason to refuse such a request.

How can she refuse a request for a single visit?

There was no reason to refuse the request, but he still wanted to know more.

At first, he seemed on the point of refusing the request.

Perhaps he had been wrong in refusing their request to play the story down.