Might I have a word with cardinal in the morning? (4)
I believe the answer is:
ahem
'might i have a word' is the definition.
(you might cough when you wish to speak)
'cardinal in the morning?' is the wordplay.
'cardinal' becomes 'he' (I've seen this in other clues).
'in the' indicates putting letters inside.
'morning?' becomes 'am' (as in 12:00 AM).
'he' put within 'am' is 'AHEM'.
'with' is the link.
(Other definitions for ahem that I've seen before include "Cough to draw attention" , "Half-cough to draw attention" , "I say!" , "call attracting attention" , "Interjection" .)