His eyes flickered downward momentarily when he notices Ed's hands moving toward the weapons at his hips, and he felt a lump form in his throat. In that moment, Stede immediately acknowledged to himself that Ed was bound to gut him from belly to throat for his betrayal. Abandoning him, such as he did. But the punch of a blade into his gut didn't happen, and he felt his shoulders relax only a little at the realization.
"I-" Stede started and then stopped, trying to find the right words.
What could he possibly say to make this better?
"I'm sorry, Ed," he finally said after a beat, looking at him sadly. "I doubt an apology is worth much right now, but I am sorry."