Thanks housemaid heartily coming in with drink (3)
I believe the answer is:
tea
'drink' is the definition.
(tea is a kind of drink)
'thanks housemaid heartily coming in' is the wordplay.
'thanks' becomes 'ta' (UK informal version of 'thank you').
'heartily' indicates the central letters.
'coming in' indicates putting letters inside.
The middle of 'housemaid' is 'e'.
'ta' enclosing 'e' is 'TEA'.
'with' is the link.
(Other definitions for tea that I've seen before include "Eg, gunpowder, pekoe" , "Shrub; drink" , "Darjeeling, e.g." , "Early evening meal" , "Hot drink" .)