Maid maltreated: time to confess (5)
I believe the answer is:
admit
'confess' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'maid maltreated time' is the wordplay.
'maltreated' indicates an anagram.
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'maid' with letters rearranged gives 'admi'.
'admi'+'t'='ADMIT'
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for admit that I've seen before include "Stop being obstructive" , "Let in - concede" , "Usher in" , "Allow entry" , "Disclose" .)