We hadn't joined a cozy reunion of friends on Halloween night. We'd fallen into a hornet's nest of Elizabethan intrigue.”
-- Diana (chapter 1)

Importance: Diana has just learned that Matthew's identity during this period is Matthew Roydon, who is one of the members of a group called the School of Night. The School of Night includes writers and scholars of the time. She is aware that the heretical opinions of the group and their outspoken attitudes about Queen Elizabeth's court have made them infamous. The mention of Halloween is a reference to the fact that Diana and Matthew left the 21st Century on Halloween night.

Curses, like chickens, come home to roost,' Philippe murmured.”
-- Philippe (chapter 8)

Importance: Diana is relating information about how she and Matthew got together and what led them to travel back to 1590. This is one of the colloquial sayings that appear periodically in this novel. In most situations, the curse would be...