Lingered close at hand but he drove off (7)
I believe the answer is:
hovered
'lingered close at hand' is the definition.
'hovered' can be an answer for 'lingered' ('hover' can be a synonym of 'linger'). I am unsure of the 'close at hand' bit.
'he drove off' is the wordplay.
'off' indicates anagramming the letters.
'he'+'drove'='hedrove'
'hedrove' with letters rearranged gives 'HOVERED'.
'but' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for hovered that I've seen before include "Floated" , "Remained in the air without moving" , "Remained in the one place in the air" , "Hung in the air" .)