Story about maiden delicate in public eye (9)
I believe the answer is:
limelight
'public eye' is the definition.
(I know that public eye can be written as limelight)
'story about maiden delicate' is the wordplay.
'story' becomes 'lie' (story can mean a fabrication).
'about' is an insertion indicator.
'maiden' becomes 'm' (cricket abbreviation).
'delicate' becomes 'light' (similar in meaning).
'lie' going around 'm' is 'lime'.
'lime'+'light'='LIMELIGHT'
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for limelight that I've seen before include "Charlie Chaplin film" , "The glare of publicity" , "The illumination on stages, or intense publicity" , "having prominence on stage" , "centre of public attention" .)