[AryaUnderfoot]

I'm going to give GRRM the benefit of the doubt with this whole divided book idea. He's done very well so far with regards to not letting too much information slip into his previous books. If he and the publishers came to an agreement to split the book, I'm betting that part of the delay was making sure that the first volume had nothing in it that would betray plot twists to come. He's put a lot of time and effort into creating a great story for himself and his readers. He's not going to ruin it by being obvious.

I'd also like to point out that the significance of many of the little hints he has previously worked in to the plot have been discovered (at least by myself) while reading the next book in the series and then returning for a re-read. (For example when Arya comes across Varys and Magister Illyrio in the dragon skull room- I didn't know what that was all about until after I had read the other two books in the series.)