Current hesitation following nobleman before now (7)
I believe the answer is:
earlier
'before now' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'current hesitation following nobleman' is the wordplay.
'current' becomes 'I' (symbol for electric current).
'hesitation' becomes 'er' (sound made while hesitating - um, er).
'following' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'nobleman' becomes 'earl' (member of the nobility).
'i'+'er'='ier'
'ier' after 'earl' is 'EARLIER'.
(Other definitions for earlier that I've seen before include "Sooner - previously" , "Rare lie (anag)" , "Older" , "of a bygone age?" , "Formerly" .)