Yes,thats all fair enough Jane.But if that is the case,Sheila should have been in reasonably good spirits and not that willing to die without a struggle.Or was she still very depressed and without hope?
So where are you getting the idea of these alleged "reasonably good spirits" from, and what, exactly do you mean by it? The person you're describing doesn't fit with most of the suggestions of those who knew her and spent time with her during her last fortnight. It's only guess-work, of course, but I suspect Sheila started to go down hill after her mother left. They'd hit it off, clearly enjoying each others' company, and Sheila must have found, in Christine, all the things she'd found lacking in June. She must have felt bereft and abandoned all over again after she left. Leaving out all that her friends said of her during her last fourteen days, fast forward to the few, dreaded days, she was to spend with June, for whom, it seems, she'd never been able to get it right. I'd say she had a perfect right to her depression, but that's not to rule out moments when her sons' antics might have caused her to smile.