At first Charles loiters around a courtyard (8)
I believe the answer is:
cloister
'a courtyard' is the definition.
(I know that cloister is a type of courtyard)
'at first charles loiters around' is the wordplay.
'at' says to put letters next to each other.
'first charles' becomes 'c' (1st letter of 'charles').
'around' indicates an anagram.
'loiters' is an anagram of 'loister'.
'c' next to 'loister' is 'CLOISTER'.
(Other definitions for cloister that I've seen before include "Covered walk in religious institution" , "Covered walkway in religious establishment" , "sacred enclosure?" , "Covered walk along the side of a monastery" , "Costlier in monastery" .)