Repent meeting maiden in liaison previously (2,3,4)
I believe the answer is:
at one time
'previously' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'repent meeting maiden in liaison' is the wordplay.
'repent' becomes 'atone' (synonyms).
'meeting' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'maiden in liaison' becomes 'time' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'atone'+'time'='AT ONE TIME'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for at one time that I've seen before include "together" , "Formerly" , "in concert" , "in the past" , "Taking place simultaneously" .)