Free The Story of Cirrus Flux by Matthew Skelton

began lightly to scrub the floor, hoping to overhear what was said.
    Madame Orrery’s voice was muffled and low. Pandora could make out only a few words here and there. “I must applaud you,” she thought she heard the woman say. “The boy I seek is there.”
    Pandora’s heart skipped into her throat. Was Madame Orrery talking about Cirrus Flux?
    Pandora pressed her eye to the keyhole, curious to see what was happening, but could make out little beyond the edges of Madame Orrery’s skirts. Then she noticed the boy, Aaron, slouching in a chair. He appeared to be asleep. Madame Orrery moved toward him. Something silver glinted in her hand. “Now tell me, Aaron,” the woman said. “Have you ever seen a—”
    Suddenly she stopped, turned round and advanced toward the door.
    Before Pandora could scramble to her feet, the woman was standing over her.
    “That will do,” said Madame Orrery icily, as Pandoramoved the brush in frantic circles, pretending to look busy. “You may join Mr. Sorrel downstairs. I have no further use of you today.”
    “Yes, Madame Orrery,” said Pandora with a curtsy. Grabbing her brush and bucket, she hurried down the steps, not daring to look back. She could feel Madame Orrery watching her from the top of the stairs.
    Her cheeks were burning and her mind was racing. What was Madame Orrery up to?
    She dashed through the kitchen and tossed the water into the yard. She then saw Mr. Sorrel heading toward the mews, where the coachman was preparing the horse and carriage for its journey across the city. She ran after him.
    “I need to know,” she said, the words leaping out of her mouth. “Why is Madame Orrery going to the Foundling Hospital? Is she after Cirrus Flux?”
    Mr. Sorrel refused to meet her eye. “Please, Pandora,” he said irritably. “No more questions. There are some things it is better not to know.”
    She stared at him angrily, but could tell that he wouldn’t discuss the matter further.
    With a sigh, she glanced at the horse and carriage and noticed the silver timepiece enameled on its door. Immediately she made up her mind. If Mr. Sorrel refused to help her, she would find out for herself. She would follow Madame Orrery back to the Foundling Hospital and discover the truth.

Black Mary’s Hole
    C irrus could stand it no longer. While the other boys lined up for the cold bath, he made a break for the fields.
    Ever since Bottle Top’s departure a few weeks before, he had tried keeping a close watch on the Gallows Tree from the upper windows of the hospital, but there had been no further sightings of the man from Black Mary’s Hole. Worse, none of the other boys believed him when he told them what he and Bottle Top had seen. Even Jonas had started calling him a liar. But Jonas had just been apprenticed to a stationer in the city, who needed a boy with fresh legs and strong lungs to call out news to passers-by, and Cirrus no longer had to endure his taunts and gibes. No matter what anyone else thought, he was convinced that someone had been watching the hospital until recently and was determined to find out who—and why.
    As soon as no one was looking, he dashed away from the infirmary and scuttled across the lawn, heading straight forthe apple tree he and Bottle Top had climbed before. Unusually for this time of year, the leaves were beginning to turn brown and wither; some had even dropped to the ground. A dry, dusty vapor hung in the air.
    Before anyone could notice his absence, he hoisted himself into the branches and worked his way across to the wall. Then, using the rope that still dangled over the other side, he carefully let himself down.
    He cut across the field. Here and there large shapes broke through the gloom, but he did not stop until he had reached the Gallows Tree, which stood like a bolt of black lightning by the side of the dirt road.
    There was no sign now of the nest he and Bottle Top had investigated before. Instead, a pile of sticks and twigs lay