Whistle While You Work: The Meticulous Maid
Name: Marianne LeClaire
Nicknames: Mari, Chambrea, Brea
Occupations: Switchboard operator, hotel maid
Born: January 11, 1922, in Boston, MA, US
Died: September 15, 1968, in New York City, NY, US
Spouse: Steward (since 2022)
Favorite Foods: Cake, gratin, baguettes, roasted potatoes
Hobbies: Reading, listening to music and hiking
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"I knew that something was off. When you and the others arrived, I had this feeling in my gut."
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Chambrea, real name Marianne "Mari" LeClaire, was born to French-American parents in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 11, 1922. Her dad worked as a limousine driver, and her mom worked as a receptionist. Both parents found time to dote on her and encourage her to pursue a career she loved.
When Mari was 12, her family moved to Burlington, Vermont in search of better job opportunities. It was there that she graduated from high school at the top of her class and pursued a Home Economics major in college.
In 1945, Mari moved to New York City, where she took a job as a switchboard operator. Three years later, a colleague told her about a better-paying job opportunity at an upscale hotel, and in 1949, Mari took a leap of faith and visited the hotel, where she was hired as a maid.
Mari excelled at her new job, sending her ailing parents half her pay at the end of the month. She was named Employee of the Month at least fifteen times, and Employee of the Year in 1951, 1958 and 1965. In her spare time, she wrote short stories starring a fictional version of herself, who she named "Chambrea", a play on the word "chamber".
Tragedy struck on September 15, 1968, when a fire broke out at the hotel where Mari worked. Bravely, Mari worked to help her colleagues and hotel guests to safety, sustaining lethal injuries when she was caught in a backdraft. However, thanks to her efforts, she was the sole casualty of the blaze, and she was posthumously honored for her courage. Mari was 46 years old.
Now a ghost, Mari decided to take on her "Chambrea" persona and resigned herself to walking the Earth, popping up in this hotel and that hotel to tidy beds and vacuum rooms. She spent most of the 80s in her ancestral homeland of France, leaving patrons of upscale Paris hotels spooked but unharmed. In the 90s and early 2000s, sightings of the ghostly maid were reported all over Europe, and in 2008, she returned to New York City, where she found that the hotel where she'd worked and died had closed down due to financial woes.
For ten years, Chambrea toured hotels big and small in the Big Apple. At the InterContinental Hotel in 2018, she met and charmed Hellen Gravely, being charmed by her in turn. One thing led to another, and soon, Chambrea found herself working a steady job at the Last Resort, unknowingly aiding Hellen in setting a trap. Also during this time, she fell in love with the hotel's bellhop, Steward.
When Hellen and King Boo sprung their trap in October 2019, Chambrea was tasked with disposing of Gadd's briefcase, which contained his newest creation, Gooigi. Simultaneously, Luigi was sent to retrieve the briefcase, resulting in a confrontation between the two. Initially, Chambrea, lovingly called "Brea" by her colleagues, managed to hold off Luigi by tickling him with her feather duster, but he managed to gather his bearings, capture her and give Gadd the briefcase.
The rest, as they say, is history.
After Hellen and King Boo's defeats, Chambrea, freed from their control, helped the others rebuild the hotel, leading a team of maids on its opening day. Her relationship with Steward deepened, and they wed in May 2022.
In her afterlife, Brea has settled into a job she truly loved, with her loving husband by her side.
