Tory secretary's out of office -- in study (11)
I believe the answer is:
contemplate
'study' is the definition.
('contemplate' can be a synonym of 'study')
'tory secretary's out of office' is the wordplay.
'tory' becomes 'con' (abbreviation for Conservative).
'secretary' becomes 'temp' (I've seen this in other clues).
'out of office' becomes 'late' (I've seen this in other clues).
'con'+'temp'+'late'='CONTEMPLATE'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for contemplate that I've seen before include "Intend" , "Ponder" , "Look at thoughtfully" , "Think seriously" , "Ruminate on" .)