Arrested for the second, whether in admiration for Lord d'Aubigny's inventiveness or in a kind of silent snort of hysteria at the prodigies expected of him-a condition, O'LiamRoe recognized, to which Lymond was all too prone-Francis Crawford was off guard for the one moment that mattered.
In this passage, Francis Crawford, also known as Lymond, is arrested for the second time, possibly due to admiration for Lord d'Aubigny's creativity or as a reaction to the extraordinary expectations placed on him. The narrator, O'LiamRoe, observes this situation and recognizes that Lymond is vulnerable to such moments of surprise or weakness.
"Arrested for the second, whether in admiration for Lord d'Aubigny's inventiveness or in a kind of silent snort of hysteria at the prodigies expected of him—a condition, O'LiamRoe recognized, to which Lymond was all too prone—Francis Crawford was off guard for the one moment that mattered."
