Remain tender and close to wife (4)
I believe the answer is:
bide
'remain' is the definition.
(biding is a kind of remaining)
'tender and close to wife' is the wordplay.
'tender' becomes 'bid' (synonyms).
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'close to' indicates one should take the final letters (the 'close' to the word).
The final letter of 'wife' is 'e'.
'bid'+'e'='BIDE'
(Other definitions for bide that I've seen before include "Remain (archaic)" , "Tarry" , "Remain or stay (poetically)" , "Remain; await (time)" , "Dwell, stay" .)