Berenger Sauniere's houskeeper at
Rennes-le-Chateau. Sauniere transferred all his mysterious wealth into her name prior to his death in 1917, and she lived a life of luxury until the Second World War.
After the war, the French Government intituted a new currency. In an attempt to cut down on war profiteers, everyone was required to account for their wealth when exhanging new francs for old.
Faced with the possibility of having to explain her wealth, Marie chose poverty. In 1946 she was seen in the grounds of the Villa Bethania, burning huge sheaves of franc notes. She then sold the Villa and its grounds to the wealthy Corbu family, and lived the remaining years of her life on the proceeds from the sale.
She is reported to have told M. Noel Corbu that "...The people round here walk on gold without knowing it. With what the master has left behind you could feed Rennes for a century and still have enough left over ... one day I will tell you a secret that will make you a rich, rich man."
But it was not to be. On 29th January 1953 she suffered a stroke that left her incapable of speech. She dies shortly aferward, taking her secret to the grave. She was buried next to her master in the churchyard at Rennes.