Aristocrat always preceded by a page (4)
I believe the answer is:
peer
'aristocrat' is the definition.
(peer is a kind of aristocrat)
'always preceded by a page' is the wordplay.
'always' becomes 'eer' (poetic way of saying ever).
'preceded by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'a page' becomes 'p'.
'eer' after 'p' is 'PEER'.
(Other definitions for peer that I've seen before include "Struggle to see; equal" , "Fellow" , "Squint" , "Noble; equal" , "Noble; look with difficulty" .)