Bishop follows this female sage? (4)
I believe the answer is:
herb
'sage?' is the definition.
(sage is a kind of herb)
'bishop follows this female' is the wordplay.
'bishop' becomes 'B' (chess abbreviation).
'follows' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'this female' becomes 'her' (I've seen this before).
'b' after 'her' is 'HERB'.
(Other definitions for herb that I've seen before include "Plant with leaves or seeds used medicinally" , "like Basil" , "Thyme, for example" , "Savoury plant" , "eg Thyme, basil" .)