Stumbled upon the following exchange in Pamela Hill's "The Malvie Inheritance". This occurs after the maid, Mary, drops and breaks a crock.
"I had intended offering you a choice between the price of the crock, and a sound whipping, Mary," she said. "Now you will be whipped in any case."
"Yes, ma’am." There was no need to say any more. All mistresses beat their maids sooner or later; she was lucky it hadn’t happened sooner, and that this old girl wouldn’t surely have as much strength in her arms as matron, or Gammer or the rest. She thought of Morven, her lover; and made a bargain with her own soul. If it was a choice between not having to be whipped, and never having set eyes on Mr. Morven Doon, she’d choose, any time, to be chastised with scorpions. Odd how Holy Writ kept recurring. Mrs. Retford meantime had risen and had gone to her rod-cupboard.
"Prepare yourself," she said coldly.
Afterwards, she remembered to ask for the fourpence. Livia fled, scarlet-faced, upstairs to get it; Lord, the old woman had more strength in her than you’d think! But the singing dark bird wasn’t killed; she could feel it soaring, still, in her own breast, and afterwards, when she’d handed over the money and gone down, with a burning backside, to get on with her work…
Annabel whispered. "Oh, Mary, did it hurt? She hurts me sometimes…"
She put the clinging arms gently aside and said, stoically, "It wasn’t bad; I’ve known worse. Don’t get yourself in trouble, miss, for me…."
Hope you find this amusing...
Tired | 
